In turn around BRXGHT XYXS, Rosebud Ben-Oni opens by summoning Matarose-her alter-ego "muse on roller skates"-a wildly original voice that channels K-pop, hip hop, and the intersectional mestiza soul of the entire borough of Queens to create a sound-driven howling lyric paean-an ecstatic queer broken love-song that's equal parts Bonnie Tyler and bible, Prince and prayer, and 100% pure desire. Ben-Oni's poems conjure fierce feminist magic to create a simultaneous ode and lament of a book that reminds us we are the sum of all the parts of our selves: our roots and contradictory loves, all the things we're born into and out of, the corporeal experiences we only sometimes choose-and she brings it all home with power, humor, grace, and lines like this: "This is my blood and this / my body this time / you won't betray me / I am your kingdom come."


-Erika Meitner