Jack Ridl, poet laureate of Douglas, Michigan, is the author of Saint Peter and the Goldfinch.

"I love this book so much. These poems make me laugh. They make me cry. They make me fall quiet. They make me stop and look back and forth. They make me love my life."

• All at OnceI. CAUGHT IN THE WEBToday Our Daughter, a Teacher, Wasn’t ShotChristmas, 1943Caught in the WebMy Mother’s WeekMud and DustTen Inches of Snow OvernightRecoveryI Have No Idea Why This Is Just to SayIt Could BeWaiting for CovidWhat IfAcross the RoomII. ONE CHILDHOODLet Us Break Bread Together on Our KneesIt’s Always Within the WoodI Thought About Putting Together a Jigsaw PuzzleHow We Must Waken Mid-MorningOne ChildhoodOnce It HappensClothespinsBartholomew: DiscipleA Perfect Day for a BallgameOn Certain NightsBecause of William StaffordIII. THE LOST SIMILESThe New Normal“If It Didn’t Exist, I Wouldn’t Miss It”After Reading the Table of Contents of Three Literary Magazines and Recognizing Two NamesMy Mother’s Ivory HippopotamusSaint Mark and His PianoHave You Had Your Vaccine?Maybe Tomorrow IIThe Man Who Loved OlivesHow It Should BeWhat? You Wouldn’t Want to Be a Dog?The Lost SimilesIV. SOME KID WAS SHOTJust Before SpringOn the Inhumane Hideaway of Objective Distance The Night Before a Friend Had to Put Down Her DogGrief AgainRemember That Rock Song?Her BedOn the Bus to PolandHe Had to Put It Off for a YearYesterday I Buried a Female CardinalLight at the End of Day After a Second Cup of CoffeeOn Another Anniversary of My Father’s DeathV. THE WORTH OF WAITINGMargarita FarewellAfter Leaving Bed at 2 a.m. I Wondered If I was Still in the Same HouseNathaniel Before the StormAt HomeBefore What Came BeforeThe One NoteHigh Fly: The OutfielderThe Hidden Permutations of LoveThe Worth of WaitingAll I Know Is It Was DarkACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Jack Ridl, poet laureate of Douglas, Michigan, is the author of Saint Peter and the Goldfinch.

"I love this book so much. These poems make me laugh. They make me cry. They make me fall quiet. They make me stop and look back and forth. They make me love my life."

• All at OnceI. CAUGHT IN THE WEBToday Our Daughter, a Teacher, Wasn’t ShotChristmas, 1943Caught in the WebMy Mother’s WeekMud and DustTen Inches of Snow OvernightRecoveryI Have No Idea Why This Is Just to SayIt Could BeWaiting for CovidWhat IfAcross the RoomII. ONE CHILDHOODLet Us Break Bread Together on Our KneesIt’s Always Within the WoodI Thought About Putting Together a Jigsaw PuzzleHow We Must Waken Mid-MorningOne ChildhoodOnce It HappensClothespinsBartholomew: DiscipleA Perfect Day for a BallgameOn Certain NightsBecause of William StaffordIII. THE LOST SIMILESThe New Normal“If It Didn’t Exist, I Wouldn’t Miss It”After Reading the Table of Contents of Three Literary Magazines and Recognizing Two NamesMy Mother’s Ivory HippopotamusSaint Mark and His PianoHave You Had Your Vaccine?Maybe Tomorrow IIThe Man Who Loved OlivesHow It Should BeWhat? You Wouldn’t Want to Be a Dog?The Lost SimilesIV. SOME KID WAS SHOTJust Before SpringOn the Inhumane Hideaway of Objective Distance The Night Before a Friend Had to Put Down Her DogGrief AgainRemember That Rock Song?Her BedOn the Bus to PolandHe Had to Put It Off for a YearYesterday I Buried a Female CardinalLight at the End of Day After a Second Cup of CoffeeOn Another Anniversary of My Father’s DeathV. THE WORTH OF WAITINGMargarita FarewellAfter Leaving Bed at 2 a.m. I Wondered If I was Still in the Same HouseNathaniel Before the StormAt HomeBefore What Came BeforeThe One NoteHigh Fly: The OutfielderThe Hidden Permutations of LoveThe Worth of WaitingAll I Know Is It Was DarkACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Jack Ridl, poet laureate of Douglas, Michigan, is the author of Saint Peter and the Goldfinch.

"I love this book so much. These poems make me laugh. They make me cry. They make me fall quiet. They make me stop and look back and forth. They make me love my life."

• All at OnceI. CAUGHT IN THE WEBToday Our Daughter, a Teacher, Wasn’t ShotChristmas, 1943Caught in the WebMy Mother’s WeekMud and DustTen Inches of Snow OvernightRecoveryI Have No Idea Why This Is Just to SayIt Could BeWaiting for CovidWhat IfAcross the RoomII. ONE CHILDHOODLet Us Break Bread Together on Our KneesIt’s Always Within the WoodI Thought About Putting Together a Jigsaw PuzzleHow We Must Waken Mid-MorningOne ChildhoodOnce It HappensClothespinsBartholomew: DiscipleA Perfect Day for a BallgameOn Certain NightsBecause of William StaffordIII. THE LOST SIMILESThe New Normal“If It Didn’t Exist, I Wouldn’t Miss It”After Reading the Table of Contents of Three Literary Magazines and Recognizing Two NamesMy Mother’s Ivory HippopotamusSaint Mark and His PianoHave You Had Your Vaccine?Maybe Tomorrow IIThe Man Who Loved OlivesHow It Should BeWhat? You Wouldn’t Want to Be a Dog?The Lost SimilesIV. SOME KID WAS SHOTJust Before SpringOn the Inhumane Hideaway of Objective Distance The Night Before a Friend Had to Put Down Her DogGrief AgainRemember That Rock Song?Her BedOn the Bus to PolandHe Had to Put It Off for a YearYesterday I Buried a Female CardinalLight at the End of Day After a Second Cup of CoffeeOn Another Anniversary of My Father’s DeathV. THE WORTH OF WAITINGMargarita FarewellAfter Leaving Bed at 2 a.m. I Wondered If I was Still in the Same HouseNathaniel Before the StormAt HomeBefore What Came BeforeThe One NoteHigh Fly: The OutfielderThe Hidden Permutations of LoveThe Worth of WaitingAll I Know Is It Was DarkACKNOWLEDGMENTS