Stephen Dobyns was born in Orange, New Jersey, and is the celebrated author of thirteen collections of poems known for their deep exploration of themes that are both delightful and terrifying. Trained as a journalist, he has twenty remarkable novels to his credit, ten of which are mysteries set in Saratoga Springs, and two of which have been made into films. He has published many essays, reviews, and reportage, received numerous awards, and taught at more than a dozen colleges and universities, including the University of Iowa and Warren Wilson College. Dobyns lives in Westerly, Rhode Island.

Three Poems

by Stephen Dobyns

Poem

Who has the time? he asked.
But none in the room wore a watch.
On the hearth lay a dog, its two
front paws making parallel lines.
It’s eleven o’clock, said another,
the day has scarcely begun.
But the dog was a black dog,
black with one blind eye.
It’s nearing midnight, said a third,
and which of us is ready?

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