Let me introduce myself and my poetry journey. My first memory of writing a poem was in middle school when I entered a poetry-writing competition. That sparked a passion that has intensified over the years, but also competed with my passion for writing music, with one or the other dominating, at various times, throughout my life.

Initially, my poetry remained as private as my thoughts. However, when I became an English teacher, I began to share my poems with my students as a way of drawing attention to themes, messages, and literary techniques in their texts. It gave them a greater understanding of the devices a writer employs to achieve their purpose and the way the writer’s choice of form and language helps to convey their perspective on a subject.

Over the years, I have continued to respond to my world through writing poems which reflect my experiences. My poetry has become something of a map of my neural pathways, as I have explored issues and observed the world around me. Being an avid reader, as well as an amateur theologian and philosopher, there have been many challenging questions and internal conversations that have been captured in poetic form. As you read these poems, it is my hope that they will reshuffle your neural pathways as they did mine. In the process, our knowledge and experiences will interact, building those infinite connections that make our lives exciting, stimulating and challenging as we attempt to authentically engage with the world around us and within us.