The Magellanic Clouds from S.M.S. No. 5

Diane Wakoski is an American poet born in 1937 whose work emerged from postwar lyric traditions. Working primarily in long-form narrative verse, she developed a distinctive voice rooted in autobiographical material and the landscape of the American West. Her poems combine confessional intensity with mythic and archetypal imagery, often returning to themes of desire, betrayal, and solitude.