The title of this collection—at times mournful, sardonic, and joyous—refers to the grief in the wake of loss. Yet these poems aren't just about the consequences of loss but also about the complex experiences of endurance, acquiescence, and rebirth that, with luck, mark the aftermath of sorrow. from "Aftermath: Kite"       But the thought is only paper after all,       a soul that clings to a stick, tears open, shreds       as if it's flung to the ground in a final shiny fall,       and at last the line goes limp, the climbing ends.       Beyond the rush & sweep, an arc of silence—       though a mind imagined this flight, & proved it once.

Sandra M. Gilbert (1936—2024) was a distinguished literary critic and poet. Together with Susan Gubar, she was awarded the Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award from the NBCC.