In the Middle of Things

The fifth collection from a
unique American poet

Originality and
intellectual fervor are
at the heart of William
Kistler’s work. In these 64
“studies,” the range of form and
content—lyric, philosophical,
political, cosmic—rivals
the most accomplished
contemporary poetry.

William Kistler attended Stanford University, where he studied Literature and Philosophy. He was on the board of Poets and Writers and was president from 1980 to 1985. He co-founded Poets House (New York) and served as treasurer. He is the author of four earlier volumes of poetry: The Elizabeth Sequence, America February, Poems of the Known World, and Notes Drawn from the River of Ecstasy. He was the co-editor for Buying America Back, a collection of essays on America’s social and economic issues. A strong supporter since his university days of a balanced, democratic society, human rights and environmental integrity, Kistler continues his commitment. He lives in New York City.

study sixty-two

immediately it rolls and tumbles out of the tap
spreading over the plates stacked in the sink,
reminding me of the sea washing over
the boardwalk and houses of the Jersey shore,
essence and substance that divides but doesn’t
break, that driven against a small space can
lift anything. Think of it — lifting hundreds,
thousands of times your weight without effort,
think of it able to roll, break apart, re-join,
roll on, cover continents of deep land,
send evaporations to the deep sky, re-form,
fall back as rain into yourself, think of it
as if your children went out from you, grew,
changed, came back, went out again, came
back, no older, no weaker, still possessed of
every ability. Remarkable — yes? Grandly
flexible — yes? Can shed accumulations
of waste and also common earth, can return
to clarity on the moment, as if an angelic
presence had passed by heightening the color
of berries and leaves, paint, even coal
as it is washed. What might you name something
which can fit every shape, wake any
color? . . .