“In this rhapsodic series of poems, Ríos presents the story of Ventura and Clemente Ríos, a married couple living near the United States-Mexico border. . . . Ríos’s project [is] indebted to magic realism but rooted in naturalism.”—The New Yorker

“Ríos creates the feeling of enchanted or intimate lore within a family [and] evokes the mysterious and unexpected forces that dwell inside the familiar.”—The Washington Post

Now in paperback, and following the success of his National Book Award nomination, Alberto Ríos’ new book is filled with magic, marvel, and emotional truth. Set along the elusive southern border, his poems trace the lives and loves of an elderly couple through their childhood and courtship to marriage, maturity, old age, and death. Like the best of storytellers, Ríos charms his readers, making us care deeply—even love—these people we read.

From “The Chair She Sits In”:

I’ve heard this thing where, when someone dies,

People close up all the holes around the house-

The keyholes, the chimney, the windows,
Even the mouths of the animals, the dogs and the pigs.
It’s so the soul won’t be confused, or tempted . . .

Alberto Ríos, the poet laureate of Arizona, teaches at Arizona State University. He is the author of eight books of poetry, three collections of short stories, and a memoir.