Spring Clean by Sabreen Islam, self published, $19.99 .. .. .. ..

.. .. .. This slim volume of poetry from Auckland singer-songwriter Sabreen Islam is a delicate breath of fresh air from a lyrical writer.

She explores everything from relationships and the trials of adolescence to mental health, bullying and personal growth, under the themes of winter and spring.

There's plenty of teen angst on the page

— relationship breakups (“we cracked and cracked until we inevitably fell apart”), friendships, frustration. There are also lovely illustrations by artists Alice Waldow. Love and loss, breaking and healing, winter and spring.

Her spare writing is talented and almost hypnotic. Most poems are short and dreamy, and there's a lightness that speaks of her youth and hidden depths.

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