In this Book
summary
Gone & Gone takes place at the junctions of desire and despair, memory and mortality. The poems are concerned with the ways in which we try to orient ourselves in an often incomprehensible world—the often contradictory impulses that propel us, the fractious discontent that can stifle us. We attempt to make connections to people, to places, but when does comfort lead to stasis or stagnation? Is transit merely transitory? What is the point of all our "movement" in a world we will most certainly depart? Approaching the desirable but never quite attaining it, the "awful rowing" here is toward balance. Even if the ultimate destination is death (and all the frantic activity in the world can't alter that), we are guided by a capable, discerning voice, or rather, voices, that are channeled, but also absorbed and integrated. There is neither disillusion nor redemption here, just an honest grappling with what being human entails.
Table of Contents
Title Page, Copyright, Acknowledgments, Dedication
Contents
Part I
Holiday
pp. 15
Silly Love Songs
pp. 16
Yes
pp. 17
There Must Be Music or Fear
pp. 18
An Empty House Is the Loudest Music
pp. 19
Isnât, Isnât Here
pp. 20
Two Coasts, The Sea Beside
pp. 21-23
Border Reports
pp. 24
We Are Not Like Other People& Do Not Need Them
pp. 25
What You Think of Me
pp. 26
Candidate
pp. 27
Sibling Rivalry
pp. 28-29
Parade
pp. 30
The Answer Man at the Circus
pp. 31
Hungry. Sorry.
pp. 32
New Yearâs Eve
pp. 33
Stay
pp. 34-35
Gone & Gone
pp. 36-38
Part II
Symphonie Fantastique
pp. 41-42
What Matters (1984)
pp. 43-45
The Answer Man at the Arena
pp. 46
Drawing the Storm
pp. 47-49
My Fatherâs Hands Are Warm
pp. 50
The Fear That If You Turn AwayEverything Will Change
pp. 51
The Bad Gene
pp. 52-55
Strong
pp. 56
Part III
Every Week He Wants To Be Better
pp. 59-60
Nothing That Lasts
pp. 61
Childrenâs Games (After Bruegel)
pp. 62
Confessional
pp. 63
Ventriloquistâs Mark
pp. 64
Lament
pp. 65
Proposal
pp. 66
Sunglasses & Hats
pp. 67
That Same Joke
pp. 68-69
The Bodyâs Case
pp. 70-71
Not My
pp. 72
In Search of the Sublime
pp. 73
The Answer Man at the Crucifixion
pp. 74
Mother May I
pp. 75-78
About the Poet
| ISBN | 9781597093071 |
|---|---|
| Related ISBN(s) | 9781597092371 |
| MARC Record | Download |
| OCLC | 867784362 |
| Pages | 80 |
| Launched on MUSE | 2013-01-01 |
| Language | English |
| Open Access | No |


