"Reflecting on her long and celebrated career in poetry, Linda Pastan was struck by the number of dogs that have appeared in her poems, whether as the primary subject or in the briefest of allusions. Dogs run through these poems, so to speak. The poems span the lighthearted to the serious, from the antics of training a recalcitrant dog to the grief at a beloved dog's death. With warmth, dignity, and quiet power, Pastan explores the many roles of these...

These poems chart the journeys of sleepless nights when whole lifetimes seem to pass with their stories: loves lost and gained; children and seasons in their phases; and the world beyond, both threatening and enriching life. The time before sleep acts as an invitation to reflect on the world's quieter movements--from gardens heavy after a first storm to the moon slipping into darkness in an eclipse--as well as on the subtle but relentless passage...