<DIV>?David Budbill is a no-nonsense free-range sage who celebrates tomatoes in September, the whistle of a woodcock and sweet black tea and ancient Chinese poems.” ?<I>New York Times</I><BR><p>"Budbill both informs and moves. He is, in short, a delight and a comfort."?Wendell Berry</p><p>"[Budbill] can be hilarious, as when he gripes, 'What good is my humility / when I am / stuck / in this obscurity?'"?<I>Booklist</I>, starred review</p><p>"His terse, epigrammatic lyrics are a lilting mirror of classical Chinese poetry."?<I>The Wichita Eagle</I></p><p>David Budbill continues his popular poetic ruminations on life in remote New England?an outward survey of a forested mountain and an introspection of self-reliance, anonymity, and the creative life. Inspired by classical Chinese and Japanese poets, Budbill contemplates the seasons, ambition, his questionable desire for fame and fortune, and simple, focused contentment: "Weed the beans. Pick the peas."</p><p><B>"Out in the Woods"</B></p><BR><p><I>The only time I'm really free is when I'm out in the woods<BR>cutting firewood, stacking brush, clearing trails.</I></p><p><I>Just the chain saw, the dog and me.<BR>Heave and groan, sweat and ache.</I></p><p><I>Work until I can't stand it anymore.<BR>Take a break.</I></p><p><I>Sit on the needle-strewn ground up against a big pine tree,<BR>drink some water, stare out through the woods, pet the dog.</I></p><p><I>Stretch out on the ground, take a nap,<BR>dog's head on my lap.</I></p><p><I>Ah, this would be the time and place and way<BR>to die.</I></p><p><B>David Budbill</B> is the author of poems, plays, essays, speeches, and book reviews. He has also served as a commentator on NPR's <I>All Things Considered</I>. He lives in the mountains of northern Vermont where he tends his garden and website.</p><BR></DIV>