Rain Witness : Kelsay Books : 9781639802081 : 1639802088 : 20 Oct 2022 : In his new book Rain Witness, Ed Ryterband--psychologist, teacher, standup comedian, father, husband, lover and poet-explores intense moments in his long and varied life. During the Covid epidemic, he's been down in his basement, going through "that old maple bookcase," recreating his "once upon a time." He explains how a child becomes a "Giraffe Whisperer", touches a giraffe before "she slowly raises her head way up to the sky." But this 80-year-old poet doesn't live in the past, and he does not "feel like a patriarch." He contemplates everything from "Night Crullers" to "Cantaloupes," discusses "The Deal between Narcissus, the Foxes and Weasels" as political fable, and meditates upon the death of a lobster as his own demise: "When I'm not looking," he tells Death, "take me then." Ryterband knows, "Time is a wicked shadow" and "Surrender is a tricky skill." ?Lois Marie Harrod, Spat, Woman, Nightmares of the Mi