W. W. Norton, hardcover

Publication Date: October 11, 2022

Publisher Marketing: In poems of graceful lyricism and penetrating observation, award-winning poet Linda Pastan sheds new light on the complexities of ordinary life and the rising tide of mortality. Drawing from Pastan's five most recent volumes--including The Last Uncle (2002), Traveling Light (2011), and Insomnia (2015)--and with over thirty new poems, Almost an Elegy reflects on beauty, old age, and the probability of loss. Whether in a lush evocation of an impressionist painting or a wry and wistful ode to a car key, Pastan finds lucid meaning in the passage of time.

From "Mirage"
I want to simply be one with the trees sighing
outside my window, sighing not for me
but to accommodate the wind.