We can only write what we know, whether that comes from communicating in broken French and broken English with a Parisian nurse, or staring in horror at the human effects of a geological calamity. Here are twenty years worth of dark poetry, representing a dark world, the very one we live in. These poems were written at home, at work, in the air, shipboard in the middle of the Indian Ocean, confined to a hospital bed in a foreign land, in other words, all the usual places. Influenced by Lovecraft, Zelazny, and Algernon Blackwood, among others, Kopaska-Merkel enlists his imagination and scientific background in service to poetic expressions of the wonder, horror, and magic that permeate our world. Advance praise for Luminous Worlds "Linked by themes of cosmic isolation, ruin, dead cities, and mysterious women, these poems proceed by their own sure dream logic. Kopaska-Merkel's deep understanding of science blends strangely but effectively with the surreal to create convincing narratives of impossible experience." - Ann K. Schwader, Rhysling Award winner, author of Twisted in Dream and Wild Hunt of the Stars "Over the last 25 years, David C. Kopaska-Merkel's Dreams and Nightmares has been at the heart of speculative poetry movement, publishing some of the very best speculative poetry anywhere - in these pages, you'll see that he's written some of it, as well. David has been a flame at the heart of a movement; herein, find the artistic core of things, and the vision behind a now-venerable publication. Damn, but the man can write " - W. Gregory Stewart, Nebula Nominee and multiple Rhysling Award winner "The stark wind of a cautionary tale dips through the ruined cities and skewed alien love songs of Luminous Worlds. These are cohesive literate subtle explorations loaded with kinetics. 'Ghost Lakes' haunts with geologic power. An entire Japanese horror movie is encapsulated in 'Tsunami Child.' Kopaska-Merkel's formidable voice becomes a force to be reckoned with." - Robert Frazier, SFPA Grandmaster Poet, author of Phantom Navigation