Immediately upon hearing Hilborn read his poem “OCD” on a social media video, I was hooked. I had to read Our Numbered Days, the book collection of his poetry.
Despite the abundance of cursing throughout the book, I really enjoyed the poetry. Many of the poems contained lines I wanted to write down and commit to memory, like the middle of “You Can Look” where Hilborn writes the iconic line “this is what it’s like to turn a suicide note into a paper airplane”.
Vibrant and full of intense, raw emotion, the poems in Our Numbered Days were descriptive in such a way you could almost hear Hilborn reading them to you.
Hilborn Doesn’t Write For Everyone
Although the cursing was already mentioned, I would also take this moment to mention a trigger warning: many of the poems contain references to suicidal ideation. If you are easily triggered, this is not the book for you.
Along with the emotion and rawness, Hilborn does not hold back and openly expresses thoughts that could be considered quite dark (and probably would be, for a different reader). Therefore, please head this warning and use caution if deciding to read Our Numbered Days.
Favorite Lines to Commit to Memory
Although I already mentioned the line from “You Can Look”, there were so many lines that resonated with me and I just wanted to mention a few of them here.
- Although technically not a line, I wanted to mention the creativeness with the poems “The New Sheets” and “Again”. Read those carefully – you miss so much when you simply glance.
- “your life is sharper once it’s gone” (“Ekphrasis with Peeled Onions”)
- “I am just carbon and bad timing” (“Clatter”)
Definitely not the lighter content that modern poetry often consists of, I loved how bold and dark (and real) Hilborn was in this book.
Recommendation
A book that could easily be savored slowly, poem by poem, or binged in one quick sitting, either would be appropriate depending on the reader. I would highly recommend this book to lovers of the popular poetry book Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur, or (a personal favorite) the lesser known title Reverie (The Poetic Underground) by Erin Hanson.
Christian, wife, “hybrid” mama, I run the site All Behind A Smile to help others like me.
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