"In Temptation by Water, Diane Lockward 'calculates the sum of her griefs' with a vigorous and mature poetic eye. Whether mourning the loss of a lover's touch or celebrating steam rising from the slit of a baked potato, Lockward embraces life's luscious, naked flaws and ecstatic turns, surrendering to desire and what's left in 'the wreckage of absence.'"
--Dorianne Laux