After the Point of No Return

<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>