I. Walking on Tiptoe

In the first of the four sections in Delights & Shadows, the poems are primarily impressionistic sketches of people. The first poem in this section, "Walking on Tiptoe," laments how the many burdens humans carry have forced them to walk more heavily than certain animals that are graceful and ready to spring into motion. At the end of the poem, Kooser notes that humans still sometimes creep silently in the night, like animals, when they walk on tiptoe through the house.

Kooser continues to observe the human experience in the next poem, "Tattoo." In this poem, he describes an older man shopping at a yard sale. The man has a tattoo of "a dripping dagger held in the fist of a shuddering heart" on his shoulder. The poet senses that neither the man nor the tattoo is as bold or vital as it was once...