Poetry. "For many years I have been aware of Matthew Spireng's gifts as an observer of nature, and as a poet. Until I read this collection, however, I had not considered how thoroughly and skillfully his poems avoid the great pitfall that awaits the sharp-eyed recorder of the slightly out-of-the-way. These are not mere notes on brief encounters with interesting phenomena; they are fine, memorable poems, and long after I am accustomed to the startling observations they contain, the delicate sturdiness of their poetic craft will keep calling me back to them"--Henry Taylor.