📑Lanterns for the Dark by Rheaa Noor

BOOK DETAILS : 

• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0FVY91H64
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bookleaf Publishing (10 October 2025); Libresco Feeds Private Limited
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 52 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8900812106

ABOUT THE AUTHOR : 

Rheaa Noor is a writer and poet whose work explores love, loss, and the quiet act of becoming. Her words are born from nights that felt too heavy and mornings that felt too sharp, offering a soft place to land for those seeking healing and hope. Through her writing, Rheaa creates space for readers to sit with their pain, embrace their vulnerability, and rediscover their strength. Lanterns for the Dark is her debut poetry collection, a series of letters to the self that remind us we are never too much, never too loud, and never unloved.

BOOK REVIEW :

Some poetry doesn’t ask to be read quickly.

It asks to be held.

“Lanterns for the Dark” is one such collection; quiet, intimate, and achingly human. Rheaa Noor’s debut arrives not as a declaration, but as a whisper meant for the nights when the world feels unbearably loud and the heart feels too heavy to carry alone.

Structured as letters to the self, these poems trace the geography of emotional survival — panic-stricken nights, breathless moments of despair, scars that once screamed and now softly glow. Noor’s language is spare yet evocative, allowing silence to speak just as loudly as words. There is a deliberate gentleness here, a refusal to dramatise pain, choosing instead to sit with it, acknowledge it, and slowly guide it toward healing.

The poems dealing with breathlessness and fear are especially striking; capturing anxiety not as an abstract concept, but as a physical presence: walls closing in, chests tightening, time stretching endlessly. Yet, what elevates this collection is its insistence on hope without forcing it. Healing is not sudden or miraculous here; it is slow, trembling, and deeply earned.

One of the most powerful threads running through the book is the idea of staying. Staying through the night. Staying with the pain. Staying alive when leaving feels easier. The scars in Noor’s poems are not symbols of defeat, but of resilience, proof that the body remembers survival even when the mind falters.

One aspect that I admire is the restraint in Noor’s craft. There is no excess metaphor, no ornamental flourish for the sake of beauty. Every poem feels intentional, like a carefully lit lamp placed exactly where darkness gathers most. As a reader, I found myself pausing often — not to analyse, but to breathe.

Lanterns for the Dark is not a book you finish and shelve. It is a companion; one you return to during quiet breakdowns, sleepless nights, and mornings when courage feels fragile. It reassures you of something profoundly important: you are not too much, not too loud, and never unloved.

Lastly, it’s a tender, soul-affirming collection that holds your hand without trying to fix you. Perfect for readers who find comfort in soft words, honest vulnerability, and the slow rediscovery of self-love.

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