So much a poet he despises poetry

wary weary of the tempest in him
his soul’s dainties
          as in a gruff wind
between buildings downtown
a sculpted modern
woman
         keeps her hands tight
to her thighs
to keep her skirt
                from flying up!

Christian Wiman was born and raised in west Texas. His poetry and criticism appears widely in magazines, including The Atlantic Monthly, Harper’s, Slate, and The New Yorker. His first book won the Nicholas Roerich Prize, and he has won the Ruth Lilly and Wallace Stegner Fellowships. He lives in Chicago, where he is the editor of Poetry magazine.