Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611

  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
We were human once

We were human once

Robinson, Ben

Paperback

General Poetry

ISBN13: 9798364461261
Publisher: Independently Published
Published: Nov 27 2022
Pages: 116
Weight: 0.32
Height: 0.24 Width: 5.50 Depth: 8.50
Language: English
**Literary Critique: We Were Human Once by Ben Robinson**

Ben Robinson's We Were Human Once is a sprawling meditation on identity, disconnection, and the fragility of the human condition. Where Alas the Day cast its net over global injustices, this collection draws us closer to the everyday erosion of empathy and the psychological toll of modern life.

**Themes and Motifs**

The poems chronicle a collective unraveling-addiction, alienation, political dysfunction, war, and ecological collapse dominate the landscape. Yet Robinson's title suggests both a critique and a lament: a world that once held its humanity intact is now slipping into disrepair. Many poems reflect on failed systems-society's treatment of the homeless, the disillusionment with politics, or personal betrayals. There's an undercurrent of grief running through even the most observational poems.

**Style and Structure**

Robinson's stylistic approach remains rooted in free verse and direct speech, but this collection shows greater tonal range. Some poems are elegiac and lyrical, while others, like Corruption in the World or Humans Shoot Bullets, veer toward polemic. This variability gives the book a more layered texture, revealing a poet increasingly comfortable with multiple registers of voice.

**Tone and Voice**

The voice here is more interior and reflective, yet still engages with social realities. There's a greater emphasis on vulnerability-poems such as I Saw You at the Start or Broken Inside are emotionally raw and unflinching in their depiction of loss and self-blame. The tone is often melancholic, sometimes bitter, but frequently earnest and redemptive.

**Imagery and Poetic Devices**

There's a strong documentary impulse in these poems, but also a turn toward memory and myth. Natural imagery (birds, rain, beaches) often becomes a foil for emotional states, while urban spaces (parks, streets, diners) ground the poems in contemporary disillusionment. The metaphors are often stark-rarely ornamental-but deeply effective in their clarity.

**Standout Poems**

- **I Saw You at the Start**: A haunting narrative of addiction and loss.

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