Welcome Calm, Silence Tyrants: Adult Lullabies

essay and poetry by Melanie Weldon-Soiset

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Welcome Calm, Silence Tyrants: Adult Lullabies is a unique and beautiful exploration of the varied roles of lullabies across time and cultures. Introduced by a descriptive essay grounded in extensive research, Melanie Weldon-Soiset reveals that lullabies are not only soothing songs, but also lament, blessing, secret confession, and songs of work and action. Lullabies speak to a culture's fears and dreams. Diverse in form and topic, these adult lullabies invite the benevolence of safe slumber that is grounded in social justice.

POETRY / General

ISBN: 978-1-971191-06-5 (print; softcover; perfect bound)

LCCN: 2026942546

168 pages

Author Biography

Melanie Weldon-Soiset loves the insights she gains through her dreams and poetry practice. As a highly sensitive person (HSP) who prioritizes rest, Melanie has become an accidental expert on sleep masks and a moderately sought-after cat pillow. She is a novice with weighted blankets and welcomes any stories you want to spread about them (comforting or otherwise). Melanie’s husband, Brian, tells her that her puns sometimes make him yawn. Her response? You’re Welcome!

Speaking of weighted layers, Melanie is also a #ChurchToo spiritual abuse survivor and a former pastor for foreigners in Shanghai. She grieves how the prevalent model of leader-as-celebrity breeds narcissism. These experiences (among many) have spurred her love of lullabies.

Melanie holds an MFA in poetry from the Naslund-Mann School of Writing and an MDiv from Wesley Theological Seminary. Melanie served as the final Poetry Editor at Geez Magazine.

Melanie has deep roots in Georgia, land of Muscogee and Cherokee. She currently lives in Washington, D.C. on Nacotchtank land. Find her in real life biking on Washington, D.C. greenways or napping in her backyard hammock. Find Melanie online at melanieweldonsoiset.com.

Endorsements

“Welcome Calm, Silence Tyrants: Adult Lullabies is a wide-ranging collection by a serious poet. Melanie Weldon-Soiset understands the weight of words and the power they have both on and off the page. She also knows when to inject levity and when to let gravitas do its work. These lullabies are generous offerings, and in these fraught times, we need them more than ever.”
—Maggie Smith

“Honestly, I’ve never read anything quite like Welcome Calm, Silence Tyrants: Adult Lullabies, which opens with an exceptional essay, a fascinating establishing shot that orients the reader for the beautiful, lyrical, and delightfully surprising poems to follow. Part whimsy, part balm, part fable, part fairy tale, but always full of virtuoso moments that call up the poems of Lorca, the paintings of Dali, and a warm glass of milk, this book is a must read.”
—Kathleen Driskell, author of Goat-Footed Gods; Kentucky Poet Laureate 2025–2026

“Melanie Weldon-Soiset masterfully weaves together established poetic forms with bold experiments, challenging us to understand the humble lullaby not only as a song of comfort but as a profound act of care that becomes inherently radical when extended to a world desperate for healing, tenderness, and action. Her adult lullabies invite us to embrace the revolutionary potential of gentleness and artistic attention as a means for practicing compassion, justice, and conscious resistance against authoritarianism, violence, and oppression.”
—Erin Keane, author of RUNAWAY: Notes on the Myths That Made Me and Demolition of the Promised Land

“Melanie Weldon-Soiset's lullabies gently nudge us to pause, to breathe, and to consider the vibrancy and beauty around us. Her verses are a needed balm for weary souls during difficult times.”
—Dorcas Cheng-Tozun, author of Social Justice for the Sensitive Soul: How to Change the World in Quiet Ways

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