"This full arc of life—bigger than imagination in a raging fire—is set on paper by a poet obsessed with beauty, hooves, and the passion of flight....In Lifshin’s language, spare yet metaphorically profound, we enter into that animal grace that only a true poet can convey, as we race on from poem to poem, joining Secretariat in triumph—'not for a win but a coronation.'” --Laura Chester AS THE DAYS GET LONGER the horse dreams of flying in the air like a gust of wind on an abandoned Christmas tree, red exploding like a spurt of light, flaming wildly like those boughs of northern lights out of darkness

always women in the dark on porches talking as if in blackness their secrets would be safe --from "Champlain, Branbury, the lakes at night" Lyn Lifshin can make something memorable out of the most familiar words and scenes--something memorable, something fresh and entirely her own. Contents of this collection include Slippery Blisses, A Love of Blueness, Written on the Body of Night, Things Behind the SunDarkness in the Light.

This collection contains direct, sparse, largely autobiographical poems drawn from childhood, marriage, unsparing love affairs, and the struggle for self-sufficiency after the wreckage of bad relationships.

Like images of battle on a shield or decorative scars, these poems carry the history of the body with agony and pride, as enduring tokens of what it is to be alive.

"Thoroughbred racing has never gotten over Ruffian. Lyn Lifshin came out of nowhere to become a Ruffian fan, a zealot for everything Ruffian stood for and all that she touched. Her poems will carry you away to a field of Kentucky foals, to the racetrack where each new horse could be the one, to the bone-numbing feeling of a runaway winner and to the despair of watching brilliance flame out. Ruffian would have liked Lifshin." --Sean Clancy, author of Saratoga Days "Eros and Equus perfectly combine in these sleek, sensual poems. From brilliant filly to tragic fatality, Lifshin keeps pace with this dark darling of the track, everybody's favorite-Ruffian." --Laura Chester "These poems do the memory and legacy of Ruffian The Beauty justice at last. Poetry is the only medium to evoke the life and tragic death of this extraordinary horse, and Lyn Lifshin proves more than up to the task. They mirror the evolution of Ruffian's athletic prowess and striking black beauty with deft attentiveness and poignant detail. They do not merely honor the memory of Ruffian, but invoke the dynamic ghost of her radiant presence . . ." --Joe La Rosa

A deeply emotional collection of poems that highlights the filly behind the legend of The Licorice Daughter, Ruffian. With tender care, Lifshin takes her readers through the too-short life of a racing wonder. Beginning before Ruffian’s birth, this collection outlines the anticipation of Ruffian’s greatness. With a grand focus on the days before her fame, from the quiet beauty of the April night of her birth to the brutal separation of the foals from their mares six months after, Lifshin highlights the potential that could be seen in Ruffian’s early days. From the relationships the filly formed with her trainer—Frank Whitely, to her grooms, jockeys, owners, and her devoted fans, this collection brings to life the early days of a racing legend. With excruciating care the last moments of Ruffian’s short life are laid bare before the reader, as the myth is born in the hours before her death.

"An unusual and at times startlingly effective collection... The first section 'North' is a recreation of the life style, moods and events of ancient Eskimo life; there is almost nothing else in recent poetry quite like this" -Choice