What is it that makes poetry . . . well, poetry? Is it the devices and techniques used by its creators like rhyme and rhythm? Alliteration and assonance? Or is it something much deeper, that these tools merely convey?

Compared to prose, poetry has to tell a lot with a little. Therein lies the core of what poetry may be. It is the product of a poet placing one finger on the pulse of the world or reality, nature or human experience, and holding a pen with the other hand.

Poetry doesn't tell the full story. It doesn't have to. It shows a glimpse that laymen can look at and think, I know what that is; I have experienced that also- even if they may never have experienced it outside the phone. It's a universal truth that experts can dig into it layer by layer and find new meanings each time.

With that in mind, I hope you read this collection with both your heart and your mind because poetry is so complex it requires both organs in order to be understood. And for these poems especially, a whole lot of patience.
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