Appropriately, I bought this book on Valentine's Day, at the Book Mark in Mount Pleasant, killing time after our dinner at China Garden before it was time to pick up Jefferson from free child care at New Life church. Not only is it Nikki, but the cover called to me as a clear echo of her earlier collection, Love Poems, out in '97, which I discovered in college and was the true dawning of my love for her.

This book of poems is very much the same. The poet is a little older, a little wiser, but still joyful, still with a lust for life. Even in her most sorrowful poems, there is such love underneath the pain.

Not only do I adore Nikki, I want to be Nikki. I want to be able to react with such grace and such love. And of course, I'd love to be able to write about it so cleverly afterwords. And to bear up so cheekily under a love unrequited! Not for Nikki any stereotypical tearing of hair and rending of garments, but almost... merely, perplexion. That capability I envy, even if it turns out somehow it's faked.... ( )

The latest collection of poems by Giovanni, who is currently a professor at Virginia Tech. The first and last entries describe the Virginia Tech massacre in 2007, in which a deranged student shot 32 people to death on campus before taking his own life. Most of the other poems are tender statements of love, with the bicycle used as a metaphor, as "love requires trust and balance". A representative example is If Only (which I'll post in its entirety here, as it is also available on the book's page on the HarperCollins web site):

If Only

If I had never been in your arms
Never danced that dance
Never inhaled your slightly sweaty odor

Maybe I could sleep at night

If I had never held your hand
Never been so close
To the most kissable lips in the universe
Never wanted ever so much
To rest my tongue in your dimple

Maybe I could sleep at night

If I wasn't so curious
About whether or not you snore
And when you sleep do you cuddle your pillow
What you say when you wake up
And if I tickle you
Will you heartedly laugh

If this enchantment
This bewilderment
This longing
Could cease

If this question I ache to ask could be answered

If only I could stop dreaming of you

Maybe I could sleep at night ( )

This is a delightful collection of love poetry that is witty, light, playful and musical. Giovanni puts a lot of jazz in her work - and I don't just mean allusions. I'm very curious as to how her poetry sounds when she reads it and may have to search around until I find an example.

Here's one of my favorite poems from the collection:

"Your Shower"

I wish I could be
Your shower
I would bubble
Your hair
Tickle my way
Down your lips
Across your shoulders
And over your back
Around your waist
Bouncing off your knees
Fall to the tips
Of your Toes
Then journey back
Again
Warm Wet
Sticky Sweet
Up and Down
Around and Around
Around and Around
Around and Around
Until
There is
No more hot
Water ( )

Giovanni has a way with words and some of the poems strike home. Overall, a nice collection of poetry. ( )