Poetry. "The passionate images and staunch heart of these poems plunge us deep into the life of the body—and the mystery within and beyond it. The poet knows that whatever we encounter—a face in the bathroom mirror, a dead lover's shirt, even a wig, unexpectedly reimagined—can liberate the true self beneath our fears and disguises. Unsparing yet generous, THE RED HANDKERCHIEF leaves me surprised by hope."—Joan Larkin<br /> <br /> "A red handkerchief is to open shirts and tawny skin as hustlers and drag queens are to settings of memory, desire, and initiation—'black pools of mirrors, numbers and rooms.' Shapiro's poems liken the signs of sexual pursuit to pathways on a cultural quest of 'clouds to mean / hope instead of loss.' Whether light can prevail is the unease that connects New York to Havana and Guadalajara, on night journeys that a last breath can still commemorate."—Roberto Tejada