<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal>The stirring and striking poems in Lynn Xu’s debut collection touch on an array of themes, including thinking of love as an argument; Shakespeare; the American landscape transformed into text; the Occupy Movement; and the experiences wrought from travels in Mexico, Shanghai, and New York City. Named after the first part of Marcus Aurelius’s <I>Meditations</I>, this collection draws inspiration from history as the author looks to the dead for guidance amid the abstractions of contemporary life. Perceptive and filled with insight into what it means to be human, the poems in this collection will resonate with readers long after setting the book down.