What do you think?
Rate this book
Heartworm: Poems
Winner of the 2021 Moon City Poetry Award
Imagine a keen eye and spritely intellect turned toward this thread-worn world. Heartworm , Adam Scheffler’s second full-length poetry collection, gives readers exactly that. An The poem “Advice from a Dog” translates wisdom from, yes, a dog, beginning with the exhortation to “Piss expressively.” From there, however, the poem gets to the literal heart of the matter, commanding, “[S]mell also the worms coiled up in / the human heart, thousands.” But maybe you’re not a dog person. “For I Will Consider This Cockroach Belinda” is a contemporary reworking of “For I Will Consider My Cat Jeoffry” by eighteenth-century poet Christopher Smart. Here, Scheffler praises Belinda, found in his sink “like a tiny Vishnu waving her many arms,” or creeping up the curved wall of the sink “like a monk in silence.” It doesn’t matter what the world gives him; Scheffler pays attention – takes notes and shows up to the test prepared. Heartworm ’s forty-two poems send countless pricks and wriggles through the chest cavity as they ruminate on racehorses, ghosts, mosquitos, Zambonis, Mondays … the ordinary and often devastating stuff of our lives.
Imagine a keen eye and spritely intellect turned toward this thread-worn world. Heartworm , Adam Scheffler’s second full-length poetry collection, gives readers exactly that. An The poem “Advice from a Dog” translates wisdom from, yes, a dog, beginning with the exhortation to “Piss expressively.” From there, however, the poem gets to the literal heart of the matter, commanding, “[S]mell also the worms coiled up in / the human heart, thousands.” But maybe you’re not a dog person. “For I Will Consider This Cockroach Belinda” is a contemporary reworking of “For I Will Consider My Cat Jeoffry” by eighteenth-century poet Christopher Smart. Here, Scheffler praises Belinda, found in his sink “like a tiny Vishnu waving her many arms,” or creeping up the curved wall of the sink “like a monk in silence.” It doesn’t matter what the world gives him; Scheffler pays attention – takes notes and shows up to the test prepared. Heartworm ’s forty-two poems send countless pricks and wriggles through the chest cavity as they ruminate on racehorses, ghosts, mosquitos, Zambonis, Mondays … the ordinary and often devastating stuff of our lives.
70 pages, Paperback
Published February 6, 2023
8 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 25, 2023
There is a lot to love in this book of poems. The title gives a good hint at what the reader is in for - there's a lot of heart in these poems, but like the worms that threaten dogs, the harsh aspects of contemporary life are always there, dead center.
You'll find poems sympathizing with Walmart workers, but cursing the Walton family that thrives off the heartbreaking work of their workers. You'll be touched by a sanctuary for old racehorses while being stung by knowing most racehorses never make it to such a kind place. You'll laugh at the poet's butt as an "Objet D'art" - his greatest asset.
And if you love language, you'll be pleased with the creative images and word play (cash register beeps are "the secret/ name each of us will never/ be sweetly called & a used condom is "a good omen...reaching/ down to us from a filthy/ star")
If you want accessible, smart, and pointed poems, you can't go wrong with Adam Scheffler's "Heartworm."
You'll find poems sympathizing with Walmart workers, but cursing the Walton family that thrives off the heartbreaking work of their workers. You'll be touched by a sanctuary for old racehorses while being stung by knowing most racehorses never make it to such a kind place. You'll laugh at the poet's butt as an "Objet D'art" - his greatest asset.
And if you love language, you'll be pleased with the creative images and word play (cash register beeps are "the secret/ name each of us will never/ be sweetly called & a used condom is "a good omen...reaching/ down to us from a filthy/ star")
If you want accessible, smart, and pointed poems, you can't go wrong with Adam Scheffler's "Heartworm."
April 13, 2023
Wonderful poetry
January 31, 2025
this work feels intentional and balanced. sometimes i’m laughing like im sharing an inside joke with a friend. sometimes im filled with dread
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews