Idaho Plates by DEBORAH DIGGES

Not to bless him, she lays her hands on my son’s head. Yes, she says and yes, he’ll know some higher turn in the spiral. Stephen is surprised to quieting. We’re waiting for our clothes to dry. Except for us, the laundromat is empty. Out- side the psychic’s airstream trailer flashes in the sun some signal counterpoint to the small change, zippers, buttons on all his shirts and jackets hauled up by the lapels, thrown down by the bully air, again and again inside each cylinder. From “Late in the Millennium” (Alfred A. Knopf: $18.95; 50 pp; 0-394-58067-2). Digges was born in 1950 and reared in Jefferson City, Mo. Her first book, “Vesper Sparrows,” was published in 1986 and won the Delmore Schwartz Memorial Award. She has two sons, Charles and Stephen, and lives and works in Massachusetts. 1988, 1989, Deborah Digges. Reprinted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.