Cotton Candy

Ted Kooser, U.S. poet laureate (2004–6) and winner of the 2005 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry, is an emeritus presidential professor of English at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He is the author of dozens of books, including Kindest Regards: New and Selected Poems, The Wheeling Year: A Poet’s Field Book (Nebraska, 2014), and Delights and Shadows.

"There is much to be admired in Kooser's improvisational approach to composition."-Publishers Weekly “That Kooser often sees things we do not would be delight enough, but more amazing is exactly what he sees. Nothing escapes him. Everything is illuminated.”-Library Journal “There is a sense of quiet amazement at the core of all Kooser’s work.”-Washington Post “[Kooser] brushes poems over ordinary objects, revealing metaphysical themes the way an investigator dusts for fingerprints. His language is so controlled and convincing that one can’t help but feel significant truths behind his lines.”-Philadelphia Inquirer “Kooser’s ability to discover the smallest detail and render it remarkable is a rare gift.”-Bloomsbury Review “Kooser is straightforward, possesses an American essence, is humble, gritty, ironic, and has a gift for detail and deceptive simplicity.”-Seattle Post-Intelligencer

• AcknowledgementsA Word from the AuthorICotton CandySpiderA Windy January MorningWind in the ChimneyA Light Snow in Late MarchSpringTurtlesHandoffCulvertShadows at SunsetClouds and MoonToadEaster MorningBurning the PrairieRaindropBucketIn a GladeIn Light from a Single LampIIFollowing the WeatherRowboatIn MayHarpistDandelionYellowjacketA Brief ShowerThe Candle’s ButterflyA Kitchen DrawerA Breezy Summer MorningA ThumpA Lake of StarlightBicycles on Top of CarsTwo HorsesA New MoonA Sudden StormA Walk with my ShadowIn MidsummerOne CloudIIIBirdhouseA SightingA Sound in the NightIn a ShedA Cloudy SunriseA NoveltyIn a Cold Late-Afternoon RainA FlutteringMelonA Falling FeatherA Few Things in Their PlacesA Light in a FarmyardA SeascapeFull MoonA Dervish of LeavesIVA Windy MondayEgg CartonCornshucksA Winter LandscapeA Leaf in WindOn a Dark Winter MorningPleasures of SnowAn Oriole Nest in WinterNovember SnowAfter an Ice StormA Falling BranchFresh Snow, with Deer TracksA Man Walking in Deep SnowIcicleA Stand of Ornamental GrassA Special Kind of Sunset