That Little Something

Charles Simic, That Little Something (Harcourt, 2008) Charles Simic is stepping down from the post of Poet Laureate a year early because, he says, being Poet Laureate keeps him away from doing what he loves best-- writing poetry. And honestly, as much as I like seeing Simic, unarguably one of America's best living poets, in such a position, anything that gets him to be more prolific is perfectly fine with me. I have to say that Simic's distraction is noticeable in some of these poems, but really, when Simic brings his A game to the table, he's still matchless: "The two of us just barely visible, Ghostlike looking from high up At the wet cobblestones, The one pigeon who appeared hurt, Who wanted to be somewhere else And did his best to get there, Limping badly and stopping to rest." ("One Wing of the Museum") It's getting kind of boring saying "another winner from Charles Simic," but I'll put up with the boredom as long as Simic keeps turning out my favorite books of any given year. Wonderful, as usual. ****