Unopened Letters: Poems

The poems of Zisquit's accomplished second collection (after Ritual Bath) read like intriguing fragments that have floated up from myth, daily life and the unconscious. Mining the tension between a woman's conventional, domestic role and an erotic adulterous passion in ""Living in History,"" Zisquit finds that these two often conflicting identities are both essential: ""You could say we started something--/ a pillar of heat inside these ruins./ I'd better go home to my real life./ I'll get pregnant, grow round and shed/ my hair and sleep again./ ...I'll bury my sailor's luck/ with the ancient stars and our wild/ forgiven kisses."" American born and now living in Israel, Zisquit employs biblical references to help create a timeless quality (although additional explanatory notes for less recognizable references would have been helpful). Questioning the boundaries of love, loyalty and convention, Zisquit forgoes easy answers: ""I don't say these things/ to tear down or build up,/ only to put my finger/ on the point/ where two meet,/ where what can be broken/ is watched over,/ as in sleep."" Consistently adopting a tone that is more exploratory than confessional, Zisquit is serious about situating the personal in the wealth of the wider world. (Mar.)