Songs of My Softening, a new collection by poet Omotara James, is a clear pronunciation of the pristine spaces in which you are seen. Equal parts hurt and joy, in her poems’ many iterations, the throughline is that they are unwavering in their truths, a feat when Omatara’s life experience is so specific—her talent, her race, her gender, her sexuality, her size—she is speaking of you. You are complicit in every direction—every entry an ear and a prayer.