“In the morning, looking” paints a still-life capturing the dew-fresh memories of first love. The poem serves nicely as in introduction to the “Lover” section of Saltian; it fairly brims not only with physical love & lust, but with the youthful optimism of a first time at either. There is much of both a literal and a metaphorical “morning” in language and in tone. 

While I’m a big fan of the way Ms. Shapiro breaks up both lines and verses here, giving the reader little pauses to let each image sink in, I do think the flow of the piece could be improved upon a little, especially in the final verse, where a scarcity of punctuation left me unsure of how to read those last several lines. 

I also love how the line “Her adoration” stands alone, drawing emphasis not only to whomever “she” is as the subject of the poem, but also to the young, positive feel of the piece overall. The lines that follow, though, could possibly be made to flow a little more smoothly with the slightest of tweaks, as, for one example:

Her adoration

is swept up at the flush

of a warm cheek,

her attention stolen

as she traces every line,

…  

As Ms. Shapiro herself says, “[t]his is not scrutiny.” Rather, these are merely tiny suggestions to what is regardless a delightfully sweet and poignant read.