Sentences and Rain by Elaine Equi

Whether celebrating clones or revising Led Zeppelin, Equi melds verse with aphorism, wisdom with wicked playfulness."— Entertainment Weekly

Equi's poems are under the breath asides from your cleverest friend—witty, thoughtful, and wry.

SLIGHT

A slight implies

if not an insult

(real or imagined)

at least something

unpleasant —

a slight cold,

a slight headache.

No one ever says:

"You make me slightly happy."

Although this, in fact,

is often the case.

Widely published and anthologized, Elaine Equi 's work has appeared in The New Yorker , Poetry , The American Poetry Review , Nation , and numerous volumes of The Best American Poetry .