How We Measure : Finishing Line Press : 9781646626526 : 1646626524 : 15 Oct 2021 : Joe DeLong may begin his soulfully witty, ironically reflective début collection of poems with a pithy ode to "Zero" and may refer to himself as "Mr. Empty," but in fact he's a Zen existentialist who ranges from intimate close encounters with Planet Earth, such as "Laughter in this café," to a sequence, one per section, recounting his ongoing "million mile journey." His manner is bemused, but the emotions run deep, like an undercurrent or counter-melody. In some poems he refers comically to "Cognitive Snooze" and the "Associate Dean of Calamity," while in others he lowers his guard and talks about "practicing an instrument / when you know no one can hear" and about finding himself on a bench, "Awash in loosely emphatic emotions." As he ponders the changing weather, the progressions of autumn, and the universe, he's also facing inward. He's an amiable tour guide whose self-deprecating manner invites us to