Chard deNiord is the Poet Laureate of the State of Vermont.

In his new poetry collection, Chard deNiord explores the paradoxical nature of unknowing. I WEPT WITH JOY ABOVE THE RIVER I wept with joy above the river. I wept with sorrow above the river. My tears were clear, both sweet and bitter. One leaf cried out to another, "Empty me today of all my color. Fill me tomorrow with a shot of sugar." This was the still ritual for my feet: To stand on the earth that took of earth earth with ill and sing.