My taste in media often leans toward the fantastical, toward worlds that feel far removed from reality. Much of what I consume is cartoonish, and when it is not, it is usually magical. A normal person’s first thought upon seeing my interests might be that none of it could ever exist under real-world logic, and that is exactly what I enjoy. I love being pulled away from reality and dropped into palaces where dragons soar overhead, wizards cast spells, and adventurers run through glades and groves. It feels like a dream I get to step into.
Knowing that, it surprises even me that I came to enjoy something like Kalpesh Desai’s Jasmines in Her Hair. It is a simple poetry book that traces the stages of romantic love. It is a quick read, something you could finish in a day, given the length of the book, the brevity of the poems, and the clarity of their messages. That may just be my own experience, but it speaks to how easily the book pulls you in.
Romance is neither my favorite genre nor something I would call myself an expert on. Still, there is something deeply relatable and sincere about Jasmines in Her Hair. As I read through the short, uncomplicated lines, I was surprised by how absorbed I became. I was not immersed in a world, because there isn’t one in the traditional sense, but in the emotions Desai lays bare. The poems ask you to sit with feeling rather than escape from it.
The book speaks about love, but not only the sweet and comforting parts. It also confronts the ways love can hurt. As the pages turn, passion gives way to pain, numbness follows, and slowly, healing begins. Eventually, there is a quiet willingness to try again. When I finished the book and set it down, I felt the urge to open it once more and revisit the poems. There was something about how simply they were written that made them linger. They allowed me to feel alongside the author, and beneath that simplicity was a message filled with heart.
One of the things I value most, both in people and in the characters I love, is genuineness. To be genuine is to be yourself without pretense or disguise. Within the pages of Jasmines in Her Hair, that genuineness is unmistakable. Some poems are jarring in their depiction of physical desire. Others lean into sweetness, then shift into something you might find in a sad song. Some are dramatic, while others feel hollow and restrained. Yet through it all, the writing never feels dishonest. The book remains committed to one purpose: showing love in all its forms.
Love is not all butterflies and rainbows. It twists and turns. Words are said that were never meant, and actions carry unintended weight. Relationships have bright, easy days and heavy, storm-filled ones. There are moments of loneliness, moments of longing, moments where love feels like a battle, and others where it is simply a quiet pause beside the person you choose. Jasmines in Her Hair does not shy away from any of this. It embraces the full range of experience and reminds us, as the author writes, that the most important promise in love is not “I love you,” but “no matter what.”
I may still prefer fantastical worlds filled with magic and impossible creatures, but Kalpesh Desai’s Jasmines in Her Hair deserves to be read. Whether you are nursing a broken heart, discovering new feelings for someone, or simply curious about the many shapes love can take, this book offers something honest and worth holding onto.
By Frances Arwen Samonte