false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1176612532m/640076.jpg 640076 1 The scariest sentence in the English language is brief, threatening, and hopeful. It is deceptive, simple, and as common as water: anything is possible. This second collection by Steve Scafidi is haunted by the possible and "the bells of the verb to be" that "ring-a-ding-ding calling us / to the holy dark of this first / warm night of Spring." When anything is possible, Scafidi finds, horror is as likely as delight. In poems both meditative and defiant he mourns the eventual loss of all that we love and finds consolation, wherever possible, in the rhythm of common words and "the sacred guesswork" of the imagination. Here is the dangerous world we all have in common. Here is a brief and hopeful book. <P>Someone told me that a god died so we don't have to. And yet, look. Just look at us. Nothing's fair&#151; people screaming, the rides too rough. And Death with his huff and puff. <P>There must be an atom always burning somewhere&#151;a mansion in the sky to which we are returning. A place of real quiet, a bundle of straw where the wolf lies down by the door. <P>Maybe this is what our words are for. To be a lullaby for death. To know paradise in the nonsense of the poet and the scientist&#151;to say some theory of peace to the wolf who is law. &#151;from "Lullaby for the Wolf" <P>AUTHOR BIO: Steve Scafidi is the author of the poetry collection Sparks from a Nine-Pound Hammer, winner of the Larry Levis Reading Prize. He is a cabinetmaker and lives with his family in Summit Point, West Virginia. 626277 2006 For Love of Common Words: Poems (Southern Messenger Poets) total:23|5:11|4:10|3:2|2:0|1:0| 23 101 30 2 4 0 false false Fri Nov 06 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Nov 06 15:24:52 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 09 08:21:18 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Tue May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Jul 25 16:23:53 -0700 2007 Wed Jul 25 16:27:03 -0700 2007 0 0 false false Fri Oct 02 14:24:39 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 02 14:25:10 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Sun Jul 12 19:04:54 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 12 19:04:54 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Thu May 07 14:24:12 -0700 2009 Thu May 07 14:24:12 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Sat Apr 11 15:05:29 -0700 2009 Sat Apr 11 15:05:29 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Mar 14 16:47:27 -0700 2009 Sat Mar 14 16:47:35 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Wed Mar 11 08:51:15 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 11 08:51:15 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Thu Feb 19 19:00:59 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 19 19:00:59 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Sat Jan 03 21:17:05 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 03 21:17:05 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Fri Dec 19 10:31:48 -0800 2008 Fri Dec 19 10:31:48 -0800 2008 0 0 false false Wed Nov 26 22:15:37 -0800 2008 Sat Oct 17 18:06:35 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sat Aug 30 19:38:29 -0700 2008 Sat Aug 30 19:38:29 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Fri Aug 22 00:59:10 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 22 00:59:10 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Sat Jun 14 23:28:16 -0700 2008 Sat Jun 14 23:28:23 -0700 2008 5 0 false false Sat Jun 07 11:55:16 -0700 2008 Sat Jun 07 11:55:16 -0700 2008 5 0 false false Sat Mar 08 21:27:52 -0800 2008 Sat Mar 08 21:27:52 -0800 2008 5 0 false false Tue Feb 26 16:39:42 -0800 2008 Tue Feb 26 16:39:42 -0800 2008 5 0 false false Mon Feb 04 07:04:24 -0800 2008 Mon Feb 04 07:04:24 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Mon Feb 04 06:57:28 -0800 2008 Mon Feb 04 06:57:28 -0800 2008 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=640076