This fascinating collection of six interrelated poem sequences bound by one theme is a remarkable tour de force by one of the most challenging poets of our time. In this, his third published collection of poetry, Thomas Sanfilip attempts to pierce our shabby web of appearances in order to find the unadulterated human experience; to probe, sometimes even to erase the distinctions between theory and action, reality and illusion, life and death, exposing the excruciating limits of oneness with the world, and the clash of our physical, biologic, mental, subtle and causal aspects of being with nature itself. Yet what Sanfilip reveals more than anything else in these poems is the mystery he believes lies at the very root of all true self-realization; that in order to realize true reverence for life, mystery must be seen as its legitimate source; and that in humility before the unknown, one is finally liberated from all thatwould deter us from contact with the true self.Thomas Sanfilip's poetry has appeared in such publications as the Shore Poetry Anthology (1972), Lyrics of Love (1972), Thalassa, Ivory Tower, Nit & Wit, and Tomorrow. His first book of poetry, By the Hours and the Years, was published by Branden Press in 1974. His second book of poetry, Myth/A Poem, was published by Iliad Press in 2001 and is available in hardcover. Presently, he lives in the Chicago area where he teaches and has written for a variety of publications such as Book Page, Rain Taxi, Letter Ex, Filmfax, Film Quarterly, Film Score Monthly, The Journal of Popular Film and Television, and the Walt Whitman Encyclopedia (1998).