Quarantine

n this crown of ten sonnets, based on the Roman Catholic Liturgy of the Hours, Malachi Black peels back each layer of his being and investigates what we are: "This tremolo of hands, / this fever, this flat-footed dance /of tendons and the drapery / of skin along a skeleton." The tension and circularity inherent in Black's form invokes the kinetic properties of the energy that surrounds and exists within us, and ultimately Black's astute consideration of our condition leaves us hopeful and wanting.