Barry Gifford’s spare eloquence considers such diverse topics as his friend Allen Ginsberg’s death, the art of Vermeer, a cowboy wino, and September 11th in this collection of new poems. Delving into themes of love and death, Gifford offers heartbreaking verse such as “You sleep with my soul in your mouth/When we kiss I can taste it” and “If you can choose, it’s not love.” Although the work as a whole is anchored in America, these poems are set around the world, from Canada to Mexico, from Cuba to England. The poems invite identification with varied people and situations, no matter how seemingly foreign, often providing moments of poignant revelation.