Touching Other Worlds: a Collection of Poems

The great strength of Chris Rainey's poetry rests on its lucid directness. The surprising range of subjects it engages, the various ways it exposes them, offer blissfully little ambiguity-though he leaves the world more richly mysterious for us than he finds it. The book is dedicated to the man who left a parcel of land, on the Palisades near the Hudson river in new Jersey, to be used as a public park. That resource has served the poet well; his work is one with it.

Contents

Fall
When Vinnie Retired Two Years Ago, 1
Letting Go, 3
First Commute, 4
November Leaf, 5
Lunar Eclipse, 8

Winter
First Weekend of December, 13
Shoveling Snow, 14
'Tis the Season, 15
'Twas the Soccer Practice Before Christmas, 16
Waiting for Easter, 17
O Come Passover, O Come Easter, 18
Thoughts of Moving Home, 19

Spring
Spring Awakening, 23
Longing for Stillness, 24
I Went for a Walk at Flat Rock Brook, 25
Did You See the Sun?, 26
Easter Laughter, 27
Ode to Morning in May, 28
The Coliseum, 29
All, 30

Summer
Second-home Boulevard at the Jersey Shore, 33
Sense of Direction, 34
Flip-Flop Nation, 36
Barbeque Grill, 38

Nature
The Beauty of Rain, 41
Bounty, 42
Soaring, 43
Still, 44
Healing Woods, 45

Family
Ill Conceived, 49
Leaving Laguardia for a Funeral, 51
I Left my Grandpa Sitting in the Recliner, 53
Father's Day and Not One Thought, 54
Midwesterners, 55
We Gather Together and Come Apart, 57
My Wife Is Not a Morning Person, 58
Loved, 60
Fondue, 61
Almost, 62
Byron Was Buried the Day Jacko Died, 65

Faith
Whisper, 71
Morning, 72
Apples, 73
Tsunami, 75
The Confession of Joan Didion, 76
Manly Worship, 77
No Better Place, 79

Relationships
Closeness Is Elusive, 83
My Fault Is the Default, 84
Lost Love, 85
Coffee, 87
Size Matters, 88

Self
Nails, 91
Beautiful Us, 92
Unravel, 94
Sadness Clings to Me, 95
I Deify Me, 97

Work
Shareholder Value, 101
UPS Man on the Upper East Side, 102
Human Resources, 103
The Parking Lot Flag Man on 62nd Street, 104

Modernity
I'm Still Alone, 107
New World Order, 108
Revolution 2.0, 108
On the Origins of Beat Poetry, 110

Various Endings
Not the Pastor Anymore, 115
Sudden Death, 117
Terminal, 118
Beauty That Was, 119
Emphysema, 120
Swan Song, 124