CONTENTS
*
Like a Satellite. Like a Stranger. Like a Waltz. 11
My Cutlass Seems Dated 12
Poultry Chronicle 13
Grandpa in Exile 15
Undid 16
One Cadet Crashed 22
When I Said I'm Changing Hats I Meant It; This Hat is Crummy. 23
In Their Numbers 25
Short History of Kites 26
Have I Forgotten Anything 27
*
Oafish 31
under one box another box 32
A boy is a body stretched everywhere. 33
The Weight Behind the Eyes 35
When They Put Me On Trial I Lasted Five Minutes 36
They Did Not Come Close 40
all of them nice people I think. 41
Sparks of Light and Electrical Boxes 43
What Next? 44
*
There is a day under a box 47
Whereupon Lydia Sparrow 50
Two-Year Old Reviews Die Hard with a Vengeance 51
I Abandoned My Plans. I Had No Plans. 52
Till It Sticks 54
The Small Ones, in White 56
Home-Made Whelping Box 57
When I Pass Out I See a Pleasant Vista Heated by Coal 59
prayer 60
The sun is an example of what? A light burning over a donut. 61
Great Wallpaper Dealer 62
My other thought rides a bicycle into a tree. 63
Self Portrait: Swimming in Monkeys 65

*
if it's still called that 69
All At Once 70
I've Been Unwell & Now I'm Well 71
Young Fly Catcher 72
Now inside of a man 74
My Little 76
If it still exists I would like to visit the pharmacy. 77
I Am Walking to You Now 78
Optimal Brain Institute 80
Night Jar 81
Say Uncle 83
I Make Mistakes While Sleeping 84
*
The Flag Was a Kind of Flannel 85
Hazard Avoidance Routine 90
Some Sleep is a Rerun 92
A Little (more) About Me 93
your staff has misplaced my file 95
Slow Motion Research 96
I rinsed my face and wished to be rid of it. 97
Divisions of the Book 98
through the mail you can buy a queen 99
One More Time 100
*
Right Now 105
I Got News For You 107
The Gate Snaps Open 109
Where I Come From 110
In A Small Boy Blinking 111

Michael Teig's long-awaited second collection is the perfect poetry companion: witty, intriguing, and self-effacing as it picks up overheard conversations and the accidental encounters of everyday life. As Stephen Dobyns wrote, Teig's poems "have this ability to make the world fresh again and make us realize once again why we love the world, despite its failings and our own."

Michael Teig is the author of Big Back Yard (BOA Editions, 2003), winner of the A. Poulin, Jr. Poetry Prize. His work has appeared in many journals, including FIELD, Conduit, Black Warrior Review, Bateau, Crazyhorse, Pleiades, and A Public Space. He is a co-founder and editor-at-large of jubilat. Born in Franklin, PA, Teig holds degrees from Oberlin College and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. His honors include awards and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, The Academy of American Poets, and the Massachusetts Cultural Council. He lives in Easthampton, MA, with his wife and son.