SWEET CORN

``WHY AM I HAPPY / THAT I WAS BORN? / JUST ONE REASON / (IN SEASON): / SWEET CORN!'' And so this exaltation, titled, ``Roadside Stand,'' sets the tone for Stevenson's collection of 28 short poems. Each and every one of these lucid snippets is a snapshot wherein essences are revealed for a moment: ``Cows mostly stand there, / Seldom climb mountains, / Don't travel widely, / Like to stay home.'' All are served up in a fashion that is winningly accessible to its audience. The tree house is an adventure (it has a ladder ``like a busted xylophone'' and an excellent view of France), his dogs are a pack of comfortable graybeards, his feelings about a baked summer day absolute. Many of the poems are immediate enough to make readers smile, but a few have forelock- tugging obliqueness: ``Across the front of the pale gray woods/Deep red sumac sway on stilts. / Clusters of half-notes / Scribble a crimson score.'' A wide variety of typefaces and page layouts keep things bouncy, and the delicate ink-and-watercolor drawings allow Stevenson to capture these experiences twice over. A book that says much in small ways. (Poetry. 8+)