Dear Meg,

Thanks for your comment. You asked the question, "How can someone 'die prematurely'?" I wasn't sure if you were critiquing my grammar, my actuarial expertise or my metaphysics. I was speaking in the vernacular, which means the person died well before the average life expectancy had been achieved (in America, granted--not everybody is so lucky). This person died young. I hate it when that happens. I hate it when it happens to old people too, actually. I saw you list the Koran as one of your favorite books, so now I'm guessing it was a spiritual critique rather than a grammatical one. And I guess when we think in that way, nobody ever dies "prematurely." God's will is God's will. I think you might enjoy the book. I should have shared some poetry. It's stupid to just talk and talk about poetry and not share any of it. That's the reviewer being obtuse. I hate it when reviewers do that. And I did it. So...sorry. The French have that reflexive verb, "se targue." Il se targue...he blows himself up...like a bullfrog. I think I fell into that reviewing trap. But I was trying to triangulate where she falls in the spectrum and figure out how she formed herself. I find her poetry wonderfully (and sometimes horrifyingly) natural...and useful. It's intellectually and spiritually freighted, but never heavy-handed or didactic. Like I sometimes am. Didactic sounds like the AFLAC duck. As well it should.