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German poet and essayist Enzensberger applies the lyrical strategies of poetry to a broad scope of moral considerations--a brave risk resulting in uncommon successes. The book's tonal range is quite extreme. Sometimes righteous in his condemnations (of materialism and war mongering) or abstract in his contemplations (of the mind and nature), Enzensberger can be bitingly satirical (as in ""Ode to Stupidity"") and simply lyrical (in praise of trees or bumble-bees). Enzensberger is at his best, however, when all of the above qualities find their way into one poem, as in ""Flight of Ideas-I-IV."" After asserting wryly that ""intentions hardly count"" in our clumsy attempts to manage life, the poet plays hauntingly with the word ""remain"": ""We don't remain one of us./ Things won't remain what they were./ So much remains certain. Everything else/ remains to be seen."" Hamburger, translator of Rilke and Celan, deftly captures Enzensberger's wordplay and wide focus. A more optimistic echo sounds at the end of the last section of the poem, and lingers: ""I remain in suspense."" (Nov.)