<p>In her latest collection of poems<em>,&nbsp;</em>Elizabeth Cunningham takes an imaginative leap into a magical world that is also palpably real, a once-upon-a-time place that could exist just after our own time or long ago. Here we meet a motley assortment of people, a temple sweeper, a sword woman, a morose fool, a merry drunk, an enigmatic ancient dreamer, among a host of others. Human voices mingle with those of animals&mdash;the mouse who thinks it&rsquo;s an elephant, a flying pig&mdash;and also the voices of river, rain, tree, and stone. Through songs, dreams, and conversations, a story emerges, or many stories woven into one. Cunningham&rsquo;s hypnotically beautiful language draws us into this story, one we may dimly remember and long to hear again.</p>