First of all, I write poetry because it is the way my mind speaks to itself. All day. Every day. Morning, noon, or night. I was never "trained" or "given a degree" in this "field." But looking back, most poets weren't either. It's a gift, a voice, a drive, a passion that just is or is not. I do not know that it can be taught or trained or molded if it is not already there. I do know I can always grow and learn. I know that some of my poems are good, some are great, and some are so-so.

I write poetry because it takes an issue or experience, wraps it in vivid feeling, and gives it to readers like a gift. I write poetry because it connects me to the world in a way nothing else ever really has. And it connects me to others in a way that nothing else ever really has. It was this thing I could do that hardly anyone else really could do. It was this thing I could do that felt real.

I write poetry because it is fun. It is much with deep level of soul joy. It is creative fun. It is like play. It is serious fun. It is like meaningful work. It is spiritual fun. It is like church and Zen and healing and prayer.