Locus of Control: Therapy Poems
LGBTQIA+ Poetry Collection
by Rebecca Herz
From the Author: Locus of Control is a poetry collection written to make sense of a rapidly shifting world. In these poems, I trace the contours of neurodivergence, new motherhood, queer identity, and my work as a middle-school crisis counselor, weaving together the clinical language of therapy with the raw emotional undercurrent that rarely makes it into the office.
Across themes like countertransference, imposter syndrome, burnout, co-regulation, radical acceptance, and the intimate bewilderment of pregnancy through IVF, these poems explore what it means to hold hope for others while learning to hold it for myself.
In writing Locus of Control, poetry became the place where I could confess my uncertainty, and acknowledge the spiritual questions that trail my work: What does it mean to witness another person’s pain? What is the cost of caretaking? Where is the line between healing and harm? What remains of the self when we spend our days giving ourselves away?
At the same time, the personal and political never stay separate—fertility treatments alongside news alerts of disaster, Jewish identity intersecting with queer family-making, motherhood emerging through statistics, ultrasound screens, and wishful thinking.
Above all, Locus of Control is an invitation to find resonance within the ambiguity. These poems don’t attempt to fix or advise. They sit with uncertainty, and trust the reader to find themselves within the space that remains.
All personal proceeds support Jewish Queer Youth (JQY), honoring the young people who inspire my work and my belief that healing is possible, even when the path is nonlinear.
REVIEW
4 out of 5
Overall, I really enjoyed this poetry collection, and it supports a great cause, which is just a bonus! Some of these poems really hit at your heart, and stick with you. Some were a bit of a miss for me, but it’s rare that every poem in a collection resonates with everyone. I do love how varied the topics were, and the ones regarding kids the author has worked with were easily among the most heart-wrenching at times. The poems weren’t grouped together by subject, but woven together with each other. I’m not sure if there was a clear timeline for anything but the motherhood arc of poems, progressing from fertility and IVF to ultrasounds and more. If you enjoy poetry collections that cover a range of topics, then you should definitely grab this!
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rebecca (N.) Herz is the author of Locus of Control (2026) and Homecoming and other poems (2023), Prolific Pulse LLC. Her publications include Spillwords, Social Justice Inks, Sinister Wisdom, The Madrigal, Fine Lines, and The Last Leaves. You can find her on Medium and Instragram @rebeccaherzpoet
