Stopped

Howard Nemerov, Richard Wilbur, and Walker Percy are among Wyatt Prunty's fans. The precision of his imagery and the nuance in his tone account for much of his appeal, as in "Grown Men at Touch," wherein the shadow from a barn marks a goal line for game. Of course, shadows move. Prunty writes: "By four, our shadow-field / Had gone long past the longest pass; / By five, no one could run its length." Equally impressive is Prunty's ability to imagine his way into the consciousness of, among others, a pyromaniac ("nothing offers more of hope / Than gas-soaked rags"), the family dog, and four houseflies ("They want the light that looks like warmth"). Prunty is funny, smart, and thought-provoking.