The traffic between storytelling and metaphysics is continuous.

— John Berger



The Approximate Weight of Sadness

They'd gather at coffee shops in Vineland
and deserted shacks deep in the pine barrens.
Nothing they came up with mattered
so they were free to be eclectic, and as odd
as getting to the heart of things demanded … 
Almost everything amazed them,
the last hour of a county fair
blueberry fields covered with mist. 
They sough the approximate weight of sadness, 
its measure and coloration … 

- Stephen Dunn, "The Metaphysicians of South Jersey"

Emperor of In-Between

Stones in the Sea