James Ragan

And sometimes, and only in spring,a dove from the river's soft vale of lilieswill fly as close to you as trust,and a calm in the great reds of autumnwill, as often as you need, lie downbeside you, raising a brow you've knownabove the eyes of the only womanyou will ever have a need to dream or touch.

Jason Mashak__ SALTY AS A LIP is grounded in a voice patiently bridging the __teeples and __crapers_ of an inquisitive mind. The poems are at once syllogistic, hard-edged, satirical, reflective, and finally as playful as love notes. The true joy of this book is that we are deliciously engaged in a "pantomime of pleasure" which the language and imagery generously evoke.