Richard Siken

Richard Siken's second book of poems was always long-awaited. My friend Matthew always compared it to waiting for the next album from your reclusive favorite new indie band. His first book was so much raw grief. His second, ten years later, is...a quieter thing.

Excerpt from "The Worm King's Lullaby":

3.
Someone has to leave first. This is a very old story.
There is no other version of this story.

5.
He was pointing at the moon but I was looking at his
hand. He was dead anyway, a ghost. I'm surprised I
saw his hand at all. All this was prepared for me. All
this was set in motion long ago. I live in someone else's
future. I stayed as long as I could, he said. Now look at
the moon.