Magical, insightful, and moving, these evocative episodes journey through five decades of the author's life. With wry humor and contemporary awareness, the book presents an array of fully realized poems on everything from family and marriage to world issues and teen street culture. Many children as well as adults will connect with the everyday, human experiences, and may gain understanding from discussing issues, though parents should preview the poems to determine age appropriateness.

The author invites all readers to contact him with their impressions and comments.

From "The Boy Who Loved to Fish":

. . .They explored crocodile rivers,
barracuda and marlin thrashed the seas,
trout sailed; the world grew less ominous

until another boy pushed him overboard
in school, and anger swallowed
the new words in his mouth.

. . .he found laughter on an island
of numbers. Surprised he was back

the fish greeted him with singing,
chanted rhythms of English together,
introduced him to heroes from the planet

he needed to study, asked him to draw
muscular letters so they could play baseball
and golf, bike ride with feet on handlebars.

When the boy watered the tree he planted,
sentences sprouted like minnows in April,
he knew how to talk with every fish.