University of Virginia Library

Our Small Place

More than that, the poem makes
splendid use of those stars to find.
In particular, everyday events,
suggestions of Mr. Greenwald's (and
our) small place in a giant order of
things-and does so all the more
effectively for the tone of gentle
understatement to which it clings.
Breslin's other piece. "Bad Dreams
on Water," is marked by the same
mastery of metrics, tone, and
description, but seems less certain
in focus and purpose.

Neal Snidow is another poet
well worth reading. "Awake at
Night" is a fine poem which carries
in its frail lines a great deal of
suggestiveness, taking advantage of
a fruitful juxtaposition of
seemingly unrelated observations:
"drunken Oklahoma voices," cats
and birds, and "the ghosts of
Cheyenne." It is another poem
which derives strength from its mild
and unassertive tone. "Waiting for
the Cardiff Steamer" is also a solid
little poem, though its observed
phenomena perhaps come together
somewhat less satisfactorily, and the
tone of the second stanza edges
away from that profitable modesty
of "Awake at Night."