Deep Dive Into Wilder Poetry: Explore 3 Cosmic Collections

“My words are not just for me. They are for you. They are for all of us. When you are home, then I am, too.” This is how Chicago-based writer and designer Wilder describes her poetic works, inspiration, and process. A self-identified “old soul,” Wilder’s three collections—Nocturnal, Golden, and Eclipse—take their themes from some of the most enduring and timeless imagery across literature: the sky and its many stages. Through her unique, dreamy poems, Wilder observes and illustrates what the world around us can teach us. Here’s a look at each of her collections and how they build upon each other into a beautiful, unmissable trilogy. 

Nocturnal

Wilder describes the poems in her debut collection, Nocturnal, as “constellations to guide those on a journey of healing and self-discovery, no matter how dark the night.” Four aptly-named sections —“Dusk,” “Northern Lights,” “Howl,” and “Lucid Dreams”—invite readers to slink into these inky landscapes. In these poems, readers can confront and reckon with darkness as a way to reflect and ignite self-compassion and courage. Just as the title conjures the feeling and experience of sleepless nights, Nocturnal isn’t afraid to reference restlessness, anxiety, and inner darkness. Instead, it serves as a comforting companion for anyone navigating these emotions. 

Golden

If Nocturnal begins Wilder’s poetry and walks with the poet through darkness, Golden represents its opposite and antidote—poems that emerge alongside the poet into a dappled, optimistic light. Like its predecessor, Golden is divided into four collections, but their titles convey its contrasting, sunny tone: Readers journey through “Magic Hour,” “Soul,” “Oracle,” and “Sanctuary.” The celestial-themed collection honors and exalts the Sun as the brightest star in our solar system, exploring how it can lead us down our path. 

Eclipse

In Eclipse, Wilder looks to the sky once again, tracing the cosmic relationship between the sun and the moon to illuminate truths about both infatuation and deep love. The poems are an exercise in dichotomy and juxtaposition: Flitting through light and dark, night and day, and presence and absence, as well as exploring the murky, in-between states of each. Through this exploration, Wilder asserts that each extreme can’t exist without the other, plus realizes how these extremes reveal themselves most through passionate, unabashed adoration. In this way, Eclipse is the collection that acts as a unifying, emotionally nuanced bridge between Wilder’s first two works. 

Happy reading! Check out and purchase Wilder’s poetry trilogy here. See Wilder’s work on Instagram here.