This is book of poems in an original and innovative form in which brief prose passages lead into traditional lined verse. A ship's captain loses his nerve, a young black girl asks, "What's the point of math when Christmas is coming?, an old woman selects the books she will take with her to the grave. This poetic form is intended to provide the context without which so many poems are difficult and puzzling. The form offers the compactness of the short story merging into the lyrical quality of poetry. The poems are easy to read and are not intended to be difficult or academic/