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Poet's Choice

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Red filaments. The sullen day

wears off in a dull blue-gray

it almost hurts to see: so like

a mood that comes upon you

unawares, uninvited, unwanted,

like missing someone, and a long goodbye.

Conversely, Schuyler can emphasize his casual-feeling, disarmingly candid voice -- that in the end is not merely chatty but noticing and thinking all the time, observant as well as expressive. Rather than leading with colors and textures, "Two" foregrounds the social or psychological: peculiarities of clothing and what the poet may "take or mistake" about other people.

Two

men in Arab robes

and hush puppy shoes

outside a pet shop

pass two others I

take or mistake for

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