Lucifer at the Starlite: Poems

"Addonizio doesn't do pretty; beneath her considerable wit is a wickedly sharp edge."—Library Journal, starred review

With both passion and precision, Lucifer at the Starlite explores life’s dual nature: good and evil, light and dark, suffering and moments of unexpected joy. Whether looking outward to events on the world stage—the war in Iraq, the 2004 Asian tsunami—or inward at struggles with the self, these poems aim at the heart and against the feeling that Lucifer may have already won the day.

from “Lucifer at the Starlite”
     Here’s my bright idea for life on earth:
     better management. The CEO
     has lost touch with the details. I’m worth
     as much, but I care; I come down here, I show
     my face, I’m a real regular. A toast:
     To our boys and girls in the war, grinding
     through sand, to everybody here, our host
     who’s mostly mist, like methane rising