Cover
Title Page
Publisher’s Note
Dedication
Epigraph
I
Some Birds Chirp
Hide-and-Seek
Blind Fate
Come Closer and Listen
The Old Orphan
Skywalking
The Fall
Summer Night
Metaphysics Anonymous
Mad People
Soap Bubbles
Open Late
Psst
Astronomy Lesson
II
Something Evil Is Out There
Terror
After the Bombing
Arson
Greek Story
Strolling Players
You’ll Be Pleased with Our Product
Light Sleeper
Monsters
In My Church
Among My Late Visitors
O Great Starry Sky
At Giubbe Rosse in Florence
Tugboat
The Last Lesson
III
Meditation in the Gutter
Strange Sweetness
My Little Heaven
Imponderabilia
Bed Music
The Henhouse Is on Fire
The Many Lauras
The American Dream
Among the Ruins
The Judgment
Birds of a Feather
Truck Stop
That Young Fellow
Hey, Loudmouth
It’s a Day like Any Other
IV
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle
Sunday Service
Charmed Circle
Haystack
Birds at Dusk
Sit Tight
Late Night Quiz
Dice
Is That You?
Such at Least Is the Story
Taking a Breather
The Joke
After Saying Your Prayer
Ghost Ship
Last Picnic
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Poetry by Charles Simic
Copyright
About the Publisher