Mary Ruefle's Dunce

Yesterday, I finished two books: Mark Helprin's Winter's Tale and Mary Ruefle's Dunce. Helprin's book is a 700 plus page novel and Ruefle's book is less than 100 pages of poetry. But both books invoke the fantastic and the imagination.

Here's a sample from Ruefle's book.

Tuna and a Play

Tonight we are having tuna and a play.

Earlier, I picked grasses with J.

Blue grass, pink grass, silver grass,

we each carried a bouquet.

I asked J if she was glad to be human --

J, are you glad to be human?

but she couldn't say,

she walked through the grasses

for what seemed like a day,

I thought I saw her face turn gray

but it was no more than a moment

in a very nice day --

and tonight we are having tuna and a play.