In this new collection of sixty-two poems Charles Simic
paints exquisite and shattering word pictures that lend
meaning to a chaotic world populated by insects, bridal
veils, pallbearers, TV sets, parrots, and a finely detailed
dragonfly. Suffused with hope yet unafraid to mock his own
credulity, Simic's searing metaphors unite the solemn with
the absurd. His raindrops listen to each other fall and
collect memories; his wildflowers are drunk with kissing the
red-hot breezes; and his God is a Mr. Know-it-all, a
wheeler-dealer, a wire-puller. In this latest lyrical
gathering, Simic continues to startle his fans with the
powerful and surprising images that are his trademark-slangy
images of the ethereal, fantastic visions of the everyday,
foreign scenes of the all-American-and moments full of humor
and full of heartache.