Oestra

[Todd]

This has some really beautiful touches. I absolutely love S2-S4. The idea of the recreating of holidays, the theft of the symbols, and the entirely new context given to everything is an excellent idea for a poem to explore. If I had one point to critique on this though I would say that the poem sings in the later stanzas and not as much in S1. I think you need the introduction of the stars and so cutting it would require some reworking, but it may be worth considering because the later stanzas lift the bar. That said, the idea of jaded absolution is a nice addition (the idea of it in S1 as a point of contrast).

I know that may sound fairly critical but my comments are more a reflection of how much I actually like the poem.

Great read in any event Leanne!

Best,

Todd