Edge of House

Dzvinia Orlowsky

With every book of Dzvinia Orlowsky's I read, I become more enamored of her work. She has an eye for detail matched by few, and an excellent grasp of how to weave that detail into the proper atmosphere for a poem:

"...with one breath.
Outside, a horse kicks her metal pail.
Someone calls a wrong number.
My sister waves good-bye
at the front door.
I'm draped in a white sheet.
Two young men are careful
not to tilt the stretcher too far
down the front steps."
(--'Before Dawn I Leave")

A few of the book's poems stumble on their own feet, but the vast majority of its work it pitch-perfect. Dzivinia Orlowsky is a name you should know.