poetry, she tackles gracefully the reality that the discovery and understanding of love often come at surprising times, and rarely in ways that we want love lessons to unfold. Some lessons appear miraculously beautiful, others quite painful, and, some, a bittersweet mix. The poems woven with melancholy magically open pathways to beautiful destinations of love and invite more it - firmly establishing grief as a pivotal shaman to higher grounds. In tandem and with profound elegance, Nikki explores how we communicate our needs and wants, both with ourselves and those we love. This collection highlights that, sometimes, conversations between two people speaking the same language - or the ones we have internally, cloaked in silence - require the most translation: a truth Nikki met as she learned a second language. The poems - all in English and with five translated to Portuguese - read like love letters to poignant and transformative moments, giving them the chance to transform those that read this collection.