Dear specimen : poems / W. J. Herbert.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Herbert, W. J., 1951- author.

Series:

National poetry series

The national poetry series

Standardized Title:

Poems. Selections

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Poetry.

Genre:

Poetry.

Physical Description:

xv, 95 pages ; 22 cm.

Place of Publication:

Boston : Beacon Press, [2021]

Summary:

"In poems written for the daughter she will leave behind, the dying speaker of "Dear Specimen" examines grief, culpability, and love, asking: what value can we ascribe to our lives and do we as a species deserve to survive?"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

I

A Homo Sapiens on the Brink of Extinction Speaks to the Fossil Mosasaurus p. 3

Lyuba p. 6

Speak to Me p. 8

After a Miscarriage, My Daughter Asks p. 9

Millipede p. 10

Aerial View p. 12

Least Tern p. 13

Seamless Bead p. 14

Embryonic Daughter p. 15

Fragile Eagle p. 16

II

Mounting the Dove Box p. 19

Resin Specimen p. 20

Dark Season p. 21

Dusky and Zigzag Salamanders p. 22

The Seer p. 23

Nautiloid p. 24

After My Diagnosis, Sarah Asks p. 25

Water Scorpion, Magnified 40X p. 26

Waterfowl, Dovekie p. 28

White-Tail p. 29

III

Celestial Mechanics p. 33

American Beaver p. 35

After His Nightmare, Sarah Asks p. 36

Fledgling p. 38

Speciesism p. 39

Squander p. 42

Tipping Point p. 43

Errant Eagle p. 45

Put Bones in Pit When Finished p. 47

If Oil Rigs Raise You Like Lazarus from the Shale of the Permian Basin p. 48

IV

Abnormal Echo p. 53

Before the Bonfire p. 55

Bridge Constructs in Modern Technology p. 56

Cardinal, You Would Not Believe p. 58

Hybrid p. 59

A Pastoral Topography p. 61

Riddles of Flock & Bone p. 64

Homo Sapiens p. 66

In the End, Sarah Asks p. 67

Shanidar, First Flower People p. 69

V

The Smell of Almost Rain p. 73

Sea Lily p. 76

At the Museum of Permian Extinctions p. 77

Triage p. 78

American Copperhead p. 81

After My Burial, Sarah Asks p. 83

Dear Specimen p. 84

Day Shift/Night Shift p. 86

At the Sea Floor Exploration Exhibit, Sarah Asks p. 88

Epilogue: To a Trilobite p. 90.

Other Format:

Online version: Herbert, W. J., 1951- Dear specimen

ISBN:

9780807007594

0807007595

OCLC:

1230461799

Publisher Number:

40030826955