The poetry of Dan Vera is clear, strong, honest and funny. He's the sharp-eyed observer in the corner who doesn't say much, but makes every word count. He handles the political and the personal with equal grace, even as the lines blur. Dan Vera is damn good company. You'll see. Martin Espada

This is what we first understood poetry to be, miraculous and humble. In the deepest part of the heart where we truly reside, there is always a wish that poetry will rinse off artifice. This is it. This is the most satisfying book of poems we can read if we want to witness language with a real poet as its servant. Grace Cavalieri

Ranging through landscape and history, family legacy and gay life, Dan Vera's poems are melodic, lucid, and concise examinations of "the limits of earthly loving." They remind us of what blessings the world possesses and what flesh-hating forces endanger those delights. Jeff Mann