Maine’s for­mer poet lau­re­ate, Wes­ley McNair, is one of my favorite writ­ers. Godine has just pub­lished a touch­ing book-length mem­oir, in verse, enti­tled Dwellers in the House of the Lord. Though it’s impos­si­ble to con­vey the sweep of a poem of 63 pages, here is a short excerpt to give you some idea of the poem’s open-hand­ed style. At this point McNair’s sis­ter has sep­a­rat­ed from Mike, her abu­sive hus­band, and the poet’s feel­ings are mixed, just as many of yours might be, or have been, in such a situation.