I took a degree in English Education and taught for a while (and as of Spring 2004 just renewed my Teaching Certificate again after years of lapse!) I had moved into the world of Hospice, Handwriting, Computers & Engineering... worked in many different areas in many different roles.

But through it all there was always Poetry... read and written between jobs, between relationshps, in times of struggle, confusion, love, celebration.

    Some of my favorite poets include Emily Dickinson, William Butler Yeats, Poe, Shakespeare, Milton. I tend to prefer classical lyrical verse to the more free / open styles, and I also write lyrics for my own or other people's musical compositions.

One near-poetry-but-not-quite which sets forth some of my basic values is my Life's Compass from early 1996. I wrote this shortly after the death of Vern Ho, a dear friend of mine who for years had taunted me in his Business Consultant role, telling me I needed to have a "Mission Statement" for me, my companies, my life.   Ok... Fato! Done now; Vern would be happy! :-)

Taking a look at the Mission Statement, you'll find these things woven into and through most of my poetry. And other topics: Clouds, Eternity, Shadows, Spiritual Questioning, Love & Loss... These are some of the recurring themes in my poetry... but then, these are not exactly original, nor news to many poets!