Maybe some of us are unnoticed galaxies tucked inside a heavy coat. The girl with thirst on her tongue wants to taste hot dates, pantomimes, liquid kisses. In the dowry of her heart a pole star burns bright as a secret corridor, cups flame, turns her mouth into meadow. Is it possible in some eyes even paradise on a shoestring remains the bright corsage of a burning bush?

The poems in this probing collection are a radiant, playful attempt to understand our humanity, find a more accurate vocabulary for love.

Toni Thomas lives in Oregon. Her poems have been published in Austria, Spain, New Zealand, Canada, England, Scotland, and Australia. In the United

States her work has appeared in over fifty literary magazines including Prairie Schooner, North Dakota Quarterly, Hayden's Ferry Review, the Minnesota Review, Notre Dame Review, Poetry East, and more. She has been twice nominated for a Pushcart prize, and won several awards. She has published thirteen collections of poetry and three books for children.