Daniel Tobin
Coroner
walks through the waiting room
in a black T-shirt and shorts,
a true believer in the sign
for on his back the word in bold
with its blunt, directive script
gives no lie to his design.
And those in their stilted chairs
inside this antiseptic box
await the nurse to call their names
where one or two betray chill looks
at him, with his surgical mask, passing,
then turn again to their magazines.
Bio
Daniel Tobin is the author of nine books of poems, including From Nothing, winner of the Julia Ward Howe Award, The Stone in the Air, his suite of versions from the German of Paul Celan, and most recently Blood Labors, named one of the Best Poetry Books of the year by the New York Times. His poetry has won many awards, among them the Massachusetts Book Award and fellowships from the NEA and the Guggenheim Foundation.