Winner of the 2013 Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry PrizeBest Bonesis a house. When you walk around the rooms of the house, you overhear the desires and griefs of a family, as well as the unresolved concerns of lingering ghosts. The various voices in the house struggle against the family roles and social identities that they must wear like heavy garments-mother, father, wife, husband, sister, brother, servant, and master. All these voices crave unification; they want to join themselves into one whole sentient being, into "a mansion steering itself."The poems inBest Bonesalso explore the experience of living in a physical body, and how the natural world intersects with manmade landscapes and technologies. In it, mother has a reset button, servants blend into the furniture, and a doctor patiently oversees the pregnancy of the earth.In these poems, the body is a working machine, a repository of childhood myth and archetype, and a window to the spiritual world. The poems strive to be visceral on the level of dream, or of a story that is half remembered and half fabricated.
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Front Matter Front Matter (pp. i-viii)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.1 -
Table of Contents Table of Contents (pp. ix-xii)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.2 -
FABLE FABLE (pp. 1-2)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.3 -
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STILL BIRTH STILL BIRTH (pp. 5-5)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.4 -
TEMPORARY RIVER TEMPORARY RIVER (pp. 6-6)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.5 -
REMARKS ON THE MORNING’S WORK IN WINTER REMARKS ON THE MORNING’S WORK IN WINTER (pp. 7-8)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.6 -
THE WIFE THE WIFE (pp. 9-9)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.7 -
THE MISTRESS THE MISTRESS (pp. 10-10)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.8 -
A BATHING GOWN A GIRL CAN MAKE A BATHING GOWN A GIRL CAN MAKE (pp. 11-11)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.9 -
THE ONLY HOUSE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD THE ONLY HOUSE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD (pp. 12-12)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.10 -
THE LORD IS RISEN INDEED THE LORD IS RISEN INDEED (pp. 13-13)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.11 -
SISTERS SISTERS (pp. 14-14)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.12 -
WHITE SHEEP. WHITE CLOUD. WHITE SHEEP. WHITE CLOUD. (pp. 15-15)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.13 -
GENTLE DOCTOR GENTLE DOCTOR (pp. 16-16)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.14 -
1917 1917 (pp. 17-18)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.15
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EXHUMATION EXHUMATION (pp. 21-21)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.16 -
MY GRANDMOTHER’S BELONGINGS MY GRANDMOTHER’S BELONGINGS (pp. 22-22)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.17 -
MARY MARY (pp. 23-23)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.18 -
TO MY DAUGHTER TO MY DAUGHTER (pp. 24-24)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.19 -
SURROGATE SURROGATE (pp. 25-25)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.20 -
INSTRUCTIONS FOR MARRIAGE BY CAPTURE INSTRUCTIONS FOR MARRIAGE BY CAPTURE (pp. 26-27)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.21 -
WALLFLOWER WALLFLOWER (pp. 28-28)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.22 -
INSTRUCTIONS FOR MARRIAGE BY SERVICE INSTRUCTIONS FOR MARRIAGE BY SERVICE (pp. 29-30)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.23 -
BY JOVE BY JOVE (pp. 31-31)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.24 -
OUR FURRY FRIENDS OUR FURRY FRIENDS (pp. 32-32)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.25 -
THE PERFORMANCE THE PERFORMANCE (pp. 33-33)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.26 -
LETTER FROM A NEW ENGLAND GIRL LETTER FROM A NEW ENGLAND GIRL (pp. 34-35)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.27 -
CHARMED CHARMED (pp. 36-36)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.28 -
YOUR SERVER FOR THIS EVENING YOUR SERVER FOR THIS EVENING (pp. 37-38)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.29 -
LAYING THE CLOTH, ET CETERA LAYING THE CLOTH, ET CETERA (pp. 39-39)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.30 -
EMPLOYMENT EMPLOYMENT (pp. 40-40)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.31 -
BLACKFLY BLACKFLY (pp. 41-41)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.32 -
POSSIBLE NAMES FOR A COUNTRY HOUSE POSSIBLE NAMES FOR A COUNTRY HOUSE (pp. 42-42)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.33 -
AUGUST POSTCARD AUGUST POSTCARD (pp. 43-43)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.34 -
MY DEAREST DOLL MY DEAREST DOLL (pp. 44-44)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.35 -
REMEMBERING YOUR YOUNG LOVE REMEMBERING YOUR YOUNG LOVE (pp. 45-46)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.36
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GAIKOTSU GAIKOTSU (pp. 49-50)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.37 -
LOVE POEM LOVE POEM (pp. 51-51)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.38 -
KIDS THESE DAYS KIDS THESE DAYS (pp. 52-52)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.39 -
TENDING THE FLOCKS (ENGLAND, 1790) TENDING THE FLOCKS (ENGLAND, 1790) (pp. 53-53)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.40 -
PRION PRION (pp. 54-54)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.41 -
DON’T DON’T (pp. 55-55)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.42 -
THE BEST BONES THE BEST BONES (pp. 56-56)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.43 -
HOME HOME (pp. 57-58)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.44 -
PAJAMAS PAJAMAS (pp. 59-60)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.45 -
OPHELIA OPHELIA (pp. 61-61)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.46 -
THE ARTIST’S BOY THE ARTIST’S BOY (pp. 62-62)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.47 -
THE NEW FAMILY THE NEW FAMILY (pp. 63-63)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.48 -
ABOUT THE HAMMER ABOUT THE HAMMER (pp. 64-64)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.49 -
THE MONASTERY THE MONASTERY (pp. 65-66)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.50 -
CALENDAR CALENDAR (pp. 67-68)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.51 -
WHEN YOU ARE DEAD WHEN YOU ARE DEAD (pp. 69-72)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.52
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BLUE WHALE BLUE WHALE (pp. 73-76)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.53 -
NOTES NOTES (pp. 77-78)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.54 -
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS (pp. 79-80)https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbnc.55