In Benevolence!, his most personal poetry collection yet, Ray Shabir presents poems written over the course of three years. Navigating heartbreak, grief, body horror, friendship, family, yearning, and most importantly, self-forgiveness, his work reflects a person who refuses to be an innocent bystander in the life that unfolds before him. Often irreverent, sometimes pensive, but always unflinchingly honest, Ray is unafraid to declare love as fiercely as he questions it. Like a calm that washes over the shore after the wave crashes, Benevolence! offers a moment of clarity-a reckoning with pain, tenderness, and survival. It is a book for those who crave genuine connection in an increasingly alienating world. ****** "Benevolence! is not just a collection of poems; it's a heartfelt journey and candid exploration of pain and heart-wrenching honesty. We are invited to walk alongside Ray’s life through touching and vividly emotional verses that will resonate with everyone." LUTESHA, ACTOR "From the first poem, Benevolence! shoves the futility of life and displays human bleak vulnerability with bold nudity. The poems suggest that our lives are sinking ships, yet that's all we have. And while reading them may feel suffocating, strangely, we can still find traces of love, hope, passion—even happiness." AVIANTI ARMAND, WRITER "In the age of alienation, nobody will feel left out in Ray’s world. He intentionally creates a safe space for expressing a variety of emotions without fear. It is where sensitivity, strength, and spectrum collide with each other. He also has his way with words and space that allows us to experience the environment on the pages effortlessly. Benevolence! is necessary turbulence in the middle of our gini-gini aja life." LALA BOHANG, AUTHOR & VISUAL ARTIST "Membaca puisi-puisi di buku ini rasanya seperti berada di ambang. Antara terang dan gelap, lorong-lorong yang tak ada ujungnya, jalan yang pecah menjadi dunia mimpi dan realitas. Rasanya seperti memasukkan ujung jari dari tenggorokan dan menguak isi hati satu-satu, pelan sekali, patah sekali—tetapi karena ujung jari, ia tidak akan membuat kita mati. Ketika berada di ambang, seringkali kita mendapati kaki kita gemetar untuk maju satu langkah—tetapi Ray melakukannya dengan berani. Melalui puisipuisi yang ditulisnya, ia mengajar kita untuk tidak hanya berdiri di ambang, melainkan maju selangkah, dan berani jatuh." THEORESIA RUMTHE, AUTHOR "I can feel Ray's vulnerability and rawness through his writings. His work carries a multilayered interpretation of emotions, allowing him to express how he feels in a deeply nuanced way. Every poem felt complex and introspective and my favorite Gun Museum had a line that resonated with me: "I let the guns stay exactly how they were found, but I never used any of them.” As a reader, it made me not to just consider the surface-level imageries but something deeper—questioning selfhood and spirituality." GEMA SEMESTA, GRAPHIC DESIGNER