<DIV><p>"Wagoner's words are a living link to the world, enacting it so vitally that they feel like natural facts."?<I>The Seattle Times</I></p><p>In his twenty-fourth book of poetry, David Wagoner reflects on youth, love, regret, and expectation versus reality. Here a master writes at top form, back-dropped by life's curious moments and imagining Jesus as an untidy roommate or considering our final destination in "Beginner's Guide to Death."</p><p><B>"After the Point of No Return"</B></p><p><I>After that moment when you've lost all reason<BR>for going back where you started, when going ahead<BR>is no longer a Yes or No, but a matter of fact,<BR>you'll need to weigh, on the one hand, what will seem,<BR>on the other, almost nothing against something<BR><BR>slightly more than nothing and must choose<BR>again and again, at points of fewer and fewer<BR>chances to guess, when and which way to turn.</I></p><p><I>That's when you might stop thinking about stars<BR>and storm clouds, the direction of wind,<BR>the difference between rain and snow, the time<BR> of day or the lay of the land, about which trees<BR>mean water, which birds know what you need<BR>to know before it's too late, or what's right here<BR>under your feet, no longer able to tell you<BR><BR>where it was you thought you had to go.</I></p><p><B>David Wagoner</B> is the author of two dozen books of poetry and ten novels. A longtime teacher at University of Washington, he was the editor at <I>Poetry Northwest</I>. He lives in Seattle, Washington.</p><BR></DIV>