Milk Dress

the long version

“Cooley describes a difficult journey, yet one negotiated with bravery and a willingness to transcribe challenge into beauty… [She] writes from a place of strength despite doubt, describing deep joy alongside fear and anger in clear, vivid language.” —<em>Literary Mama</em> “…a carefully constructed book…of elegant restraint.” —<em>Stride Magazine</em> “…luminous…easily recognized by any woman who has clasped her children…” —<em>Santa Barbara Independent</em>, Poetry Pick for the Holidays “[<em>Milk Dress</em>] strives carefully and deliberately to bring together the whole of its narrative, while pausing for just the right click of the shutter, just the right brush stroke at each image…” —New Pages “[Cooley] fuses intense feeling and scrupulous form like the best poets—think of Dickinson and Yeats—and knocks the reader out in poem after poem, evoking tears and wonder in equal amounts.” ― George Held