Solitude, solace, and consolation are amongthe themes explored in thispoetry collection that considers the ways that language, loss, history, and memory are linked together. The centerpieces of this collection are twomajor poems"Les Baillessats,"a relaxed, sunny poem written for a newborn son; and "The Sunflower," an elegy for a father thatis a technically dazzlingextended meditation on death, family, and religious faith."