-On the new Daphne Gottlieb-

1.

I've moved on from its pages, but

“Vamp” remains a favored entry.

It begins on page 15 ending on 19, and now

I'm nearly half-way through the poem "Anne's Neck"

beginning on page 30.

I like what I've read of Gottlieb, absorbing

what I can along the way by slowing the pace, but
sometimes moving with a sense of urgency
leading to a feeling of not being fully engaged.
mea culpa. mea culpa.
she doesn’t make it easy.

2.

I admit to paying the premium price for the volume
by being impetuous and not exploring the crowded

territory of the Amazon platform and

I'm now informed by third parties that other sellers

are offering "Final Girl" at somewhat lower prices, but

3.

what’s done is done.

I feel as though I'm thrown off my game when 
confronting the sharpest edges of the feminine

side of the planet.

I'll know more about that later, if ever I come to know it,
and because it's an open and shut case not in my favor,
no formal complaint will be lodged against the seller
over the amount paid for Gottlieb's "Final Girl."

It's well worth the price at the sum whose line is drawn

at the close of each poem.

now transitioning from page 32: "Speak Truth?"

to page 33: "Whiskey Tango Romeo."u7uu6