The Great Poet’s Work

Painting by Joni Di Pirro

By Lisa Lipham Lemza

So I bought the Great Poet’s Work

Some years ago.

Dutifully read it,

And was, shall we say,

Underwhelmed.

I picked up that book last week—

Elegant and slim—

And found each line shot with electric wonder,

Mind falling off the cliffs of words:

Spinning, ecstatic, stomach dropping.

It’s not the book that’s changed.