Horse Not Zebra

Horse Not Zebra, we learn in the title poem of this collection, refers to advice given to medical students-to look first to "the common, not the exotic" when diagnosing patients. Eric Nelson embraces that advice in his poems, exploring the common rituals of daily life-family interactions, gardening, long walks with or without dogs, even the clomp of a neighbor's boots can be, for him, a call to attention. He acknowledges the darker moments of history he has lived through and faces intimatio...