Three Roans in the Shallows, One of Them Blue

A selection from fifty years of Merrill Gilfillan's lyrical and vivid poetryMerrill Gilfillan's Three Roans in the Shallows, One of Them Blue: Selected Poems draws from more than a dozen volumes since his first book appeared in 1970, concluding with three short "poetic diaries" in the tradition of Japanese haibun. Wistful, joyful, resonant with "Season through place, / Place in season, in place," the hundred various poems—landscapes, epistles, "tunes meant for whistling"—are propelled throughout by affinity, reflection, and requital./>/>I think of you/>as the tarts come out />of the oven—Ohio butternuts />from Ohio butternut />trees—and last summer's />ash seeds rattle />in the wind beyond/>the window: small />bat-of-the-eye pleasures />of winter. Deep. Distilled.