From a student's confrontation with a teenage streaker, to a company man's complete undoing at his summer party, Michelle Brown's Safe Words finds rich darkness in happy partnerships. A maiden name is "e;handed down / like a sweater"e;, a taxi ride "e;ends... at someone else's life"e;. Played against a backdrop of pop culture, late-night swagger and vivid imaginary landscapes, Safe Words is the rare poetic debut that delivers passion and control, wielding humour and empathy in equal parts.