811.6

after Noah Eli Gordon

In homage to Gordon’s

The Source,

each poem here

contains 26 words,

one for each letter

of the alphabet,

and each is classified

according to subject.

523.482

In this book,

 Pluto

is still a planet.

The

 local Scorpios can’t

 get enough—

they

try to puzzle out

their lost world

from each gray chart.

306.8743

In this book,

 mothers don’t sleep.

All night they

hum lullabies,

take the blankets off,

then put them on.

The children never know

and wake laughing.

597.8

A handbook

of webbed feet

notes:

The eggs of 15 species

have not been found.

The eggs of 15 species

have been found,

but not described.

582.16

The best-loved

trees

grow old, put on rings,

turn entirely white,

and are lost.

As the forest recedes,

folks call them by

a dozen

kenning

names.

582.16

Transplant the youngsters

when their first true leaves are out,

and thereafter

as their increasing stature suggests.

If this seems too tedious a project,

cheer up.

301.4120975

Mothers of the South

guard the skin of

ginger-haired infants

with layers of batiste.

Older,

cotton-tongued

children

wade in lakes,

watch for snakes,

drink

diluted lemonade.

301.4120974

“I sat up all night with

a loaded .22

waiting for them to come.”

It is no longer fashionable

as it was a few years ago.