Go Listen To The Calla Lillies

Grief doesn't speak. It blooms in the silence between heartbeats.

You have walked through the threshold of a home that no longer holds the voice you ache to hear. You have talked to an urn, traced the outline of a photograph, and wondered if the walls still dream of someone who will never return.

Go Listen To The Calla Lillies is a deeply evocative poetry anthology by Brian S. Heffernan that transforms grief into something luminous from the poem "The Metronome Telomere". "The Metronome Telomere", speaks of a passing of a beloved father in a personal writing style that was a focus project of El Duende from Andalusian culture at Columbia College Chicago. Other works in this anthology explore cellular memories, the body, and the spirit with vivid, lush imagery that bridges science and soul. From the reminder of my grandmother's enduring love in an inherited porcelain clown, to the anatomy of a twin flame connection, to a lyrical ode of a femme fatale in a musically inclined poetry called "Grunge Fatale" for music lovers, delving deeply into a fifteen lines poem written in both foreign language and English prose exploring Kama Muta. Each poem is a voice of memory captured in breathtaking, painterly observant detail. This collection does not ask you to move on. It asks you to listen and question the little details in your life.

Some love stories are not told. They are passed down, hidden inside each blossomed gilded rose, waiting for those who know where to look.

Brian S. Heffernan is a 2019 graduate of Columbia College Chicago, where he earned his degree in Poetry. Drawing from a rich artistic background, he crafts work that is both emotionally resonant and visually striking, blending lush language with the precision of a skilled wordsmith. His unique perspective as a hard of hearing poet allows him to interpret vocal tones and musical emotion in distinctive ways, shaping a voice that is entirely his own.Heffernan's debut collection, Go Listen To The Calla Lillies, is a deeply evocative poetry journey that honors a father's passing while serving as a quiet reminder to find life in the middle of grief. The collection balances scientific and emotional explorations of time, death, memory, spirit, and connection. From a grandmother's enduring love symbolized by a porcelain clown, to the anatomy of a twin flame connection, to the foreign language and English prose of "Kama Muta Syndrome," Heffernan compiles voices of memory into an abstract and beautiful artistic tapestry. His incorporation of multilingual expression to capture singular, once in a lifetime emotions sets his work apart in contemporary poetry.