Karl Kristian Flores

Can I Tell You Something? Karl Kristian Flores

"An alternately humorous and heartbreaking ode to life's difficulties... brilliant [and] exquisitely crafted." - Kirkus Reviews


Rich. Dense. Hopeful. Can I Tell You Something? (CITYS) is a tender and brutal book of philosophy. Its collection is composed of 100 poems about age, addiction, disease, poverty, romance, art, friendship and more. Karl's poems are often told through story and capture a temperament not commonly found in modern poetry.


Flores' poems are a nuanced assembly of our questions, our instincts, and our most concealed emotions like shame, purposelessness, and lust. These poems are accompanied by fifty illustrations by Marta Maszkiewicz to create a powerful thrill for readers looking to be inspired by new ideas and ultimately examine their own lives.

Flores writes:

"Read in the dark. Live in the space between the wine and the cork.

Live without rhyme, like a vortex, free of them, go wild for any sort.

Live like a secret, dance despised, share your mad, let the water soak you,

But most: live your true wish and don't let man's template choke you."