In the world of modern poetry, there are books that whisper to your soul, and then there are books that grab you by the collar, shake you awake, and demand your attention. Kunda Cooks’ Scar Tissue Armor falls firmly into the latter category. This book is a stunning collection of poems that skillfully navigates the complex landscapes of pain, healing, and resilience. It doesn’t just tell you what it feels like to suffer and recover—it makes you feel every raw, jagged edge.
From the very first poem, it becomes clear that Scar Tissue Armor is not for the faint of heart. The writer has a way of presenting vulnerability that feels almost intrusive, as though we’re being let in on secrets too painful to share out loud. But that’s the beauty of it. These poems are an invitation to sit with discomfort, to embrace the parts of ourselves that we’d rather keep hidden.
The title, Scar Tissue Armor, is a metaphor so perfectly layered it deserves a poem of its own. Scars are the remnants of wounds, both physical and emotional. They’re evidence of pain endured and healing achieved. But Kunda Cooks doesn’t stop there; she explores the idea that scars also serve as armor—protecting, hardening, yet leaving us tender beneath the surface. The duality of this imagery is present throughout the book, weaving a narrative that is as much about survival as it is about transformation.
Cooks’ writing style is deceptively simple. The language is accessible, but the emotions it evokes are anything but. She has a knack for finding the perfect words to encapsulate feelings that are otherwise impossible to articulate. In one poem, she writes:”I want to be reckless and loved before I have to be wise.” In another one she says, “They say time heals but it also numbs, it also steals.”
It’s the kind of lines that makes you pause, not just to admire the beauty of the words but to sit with the truth they reveal. It’s the relatableness that drew me to devour page after page, as I read through certain lines my mind to me to those moments in life that shake you. And this to me is what sets her work apart.
To me Scar Tissue Armor is divided into three sections: Wounds, Healing, and Armor. Each section represents a different phase of the journey, and the poems within reflect the emotional evolution of the author or a sort of character development.
In the opening pages, she delves into themes of grief, loss, loneliness, pain, and the heartbreak of failed relationships or failed love. At moments, she pleads to be loved and cherished. Yet, as the pages turn, her tone shifts—she speaks of living unapologetically, embracing the love she deserves, and learning to love with purpose and grace.
The pacing is deliberate, guiding the reader through the ebb and flow of despair and hope. One moment you’re drowning in sorrow, and the next, you’re buoyed by an unexpected sense of empowerment.
In a chat with her she said, “I wanted my audience or everyone who reads the book to feel a deep sense of understanding and connection even on the littlest emotions or thoughts. I wanted them to realize that many emotions and experiences aren’t entirely unique—someone else has felt them too, and that’s okay. My goal was to show readers the messy part and that it’s okay to navigate them without immediately searching for a way out, to simply let themselves feel and be, and to find comfort in that shared humanity. I wanted to put out a collection that feels like inside thoughts that most of us have.”
What makes this book truly remarkable is how personal it feels. Cooks isn’t just writing for herself; she’s writing for anyone who has ever been broken and put back together again. There’s a universality to her pain and a generosity in her sharing it. As someone who has faced my own battles with scars—both visible and invisible—I found myself nodding along, murmuring, “Yes, exactly this.”
And in a society where we are taught to shove those feelings aside and tell everyone that asks the question, how are you? To answer with “Meze neza”or the infamous “Turashima!” I was taken a back by how this author had the courage and even the nerve to share he thoughts out to the world.
She says, “It wasn’t an easy thing to put my name on a book that is so raw and vulnerable. I thought about how I’d get perceived as a person but I knew If I can just help even 1 person feel understood or seen in this collection, that would be worth putting myself out there like that. I still get moments where I ask myself if it was worth it, but the reactions and feedbacks I have been getting from readers remind me that it was definitely worth it.”
It’s rare to come across a book that feels like a conversation with an old friend who just happens to have a way with words. Scar Tissue Armor is that book. It’s a reminder that poetry doesn’t have to be cryptic to be powerful, that sometimes the simplest truths are the most profound.
If you’re looking for a light, breezy read, Scar Tissue Armor is not it. But if you’re ready to sit with your feelings, to confront the parts of yourself that you’ve been avoiding, this book will be a balm and a battle cry. Kunda has crafted a collection that is as fierce as it is tender, as heartbreaking as it is hopeful.
