Summary

In "First Thaw," the speaker realizes that because she and her child spend so much time inside, her child must think their "house is the world" (86). She takes the baby outside so they can see what the world really looks like. She wants her child to know that the ceiling is not the sky, just as a plastic bag is not a "low-flying white bird" (87).

In "A Room Like This," the speaker remembers her child's birth. She remembers the sound of the baby's first cry. She realizes that no individual should come into or leave the world "in a room like this, or any room" (88). She realizes her life is like her poem. She has no idea where either is going (89).

In "Ohio Cento," the speaker considers the summer day. She observes the Ohio landscape. Nothing is happening. Then a bird cries repeatedly...