"Magnificently crafted poems, terse as needlework" (Choice), these concise field reports from a woman warrior at the front lines of feeling confirm the suggestion of Ed Sanders that Lyn Lifshin qualifies as "a modern Emily Dickinson".Charismatic little-magazine legend and muse, longtime keeper of the flame of the poem, Lifshin writes with energy, fire and truth of the common world of experience to which our passional lives commit us. Bearing signs of struggle, pain and loss, her work can turn in a heart beat and joy is never refused.Like images of battle on a shield or decorative scars, these poems carry the history of the body with agony and pride, as enduring tokens of what it is to be alive.