Lynch first came to our attention in 1987 with Skating with Heather Grace, an extraordinary book about ordinary life that spoke quietly and directly to readers. Since then, he has distinguished himself with the award-winning The Undertaking, a fine account that expands on his profession as a funeral director. That job clearly gives one time to consider issues of faith and mortality, and it’s not surprising that the poems in this strong new collection deal largely with just such issues. Here, Lynch recalls his religious upbringing while considering “the problem of evil” and trying to maintain his equilibrium when faced with “another heartsore Friday full of sun.” As he muses in one poem, “I had a nunnish upbringing. I served/ six-twenty Mass on weekdays for a priest/ who taught me…to keep/ a running tally of the things I’d done/ against the little voice in me the nuns/ were always saying I should listen to.” These poems are undeniably–and understandably–dark-toned, but they make you think.” — Barbara Hoffert