A FURY OF MOTION

Here Ghigna follows up X.J. Kennedy’s cleverly casual introduction with 46 pithy takes on sports (“Football: Sweat / Mud / Dirt / Blood / Snow / Rain / Frost / Pain / Win / Yell / Lose / Hell”), haircuts, and playground politics, as well as more private thoughts, epiphanies, and memorable moments. Highlighted by memorials for two athletes, one who lost his life in war, the other in a prank, the overall tone is serious, but the language play and comic verse for which Ghigna is best known wells up occasionally: “Of all the magic I have seen / My favorite, I suppose, / Was yesterday at lunch when Mark / Made milk come out his nose.” About half of these poems are new work; the rest are reprinted from magazines. Several, including the final—“What’s a Poem? A whimper / a shout, / thoughts turned / inside out”—are aimed at young readers who hold poetry in low regard. Despite the title, girls as well as boys will find verses here that, to use Kennedy’s phrase, “will really talk to you.” (Poetry. 10-15)