"This poet has an unerring ear and a beautiful sense of how a line should be timed. 'No line must sleep, ' Charles Olson said, and every one of these is wide awake and aware of its contribution. I like the way precise verbal description ('sun-crested corn snow peeling back each day') can suddenly switch to a more colloquial line ('I slip down from the stone'). This poet has the gift, the light touch, and yet serious ballast on board." --Billy Collins