The narrative poems in Dorianne Laux's fifth collection charge through the summer of love, where Vietnam casts a long shadow, and into the present day, where she compassionately paints the smoky bars, graffiti, and addiction of urban life. Laux is "continually engaging and, at her best, luminous" (San Diego Union-Tribune). from "To Kiss Frank," #xA0;#xA0;#xA0;#xA0;#xA0;make out with him a bit, this #xA0;#xA0;#xA0;#xA0;#xA0;is what my friend would like to do #xA0;#xA0;#xA0;#xA0;#xA0;oh these too many dead summers later, #xA0;#xA0;#xA0;#xA0;#xA0;and as much as I want to stroll with her #xA0;#xA0;#xA0;#xA0;#xA0;into the poet's hazy fancy #xA0;#xA0;#xA0;#xA0;#xA0;all I can see is O'Hara's long gone lips #xA0;#xA0;#xA0;#xA0;#xA0;fallen free of the bone, slumbering #xA0;#xA0;#xA0;#xA0;#xA0;beneath the grainy soil.