“In his first collection of poems, Richard Lee Harris invites us to reimagine events that are part of a rich life beginning in the Upper Skagit River Valley in northwest Washington State and taking him around the world. He introduces us to environments where we can wander, appreciating the elegance of nature along with the clash of cultures. Some of these journeys are leisurely strolls through ancient neighborhoods. Others are brief encounters during which we become aware of the complexity that lies beneath each moment we experience.”

                     —Jim Milstead, PhD (ret.), University

                         of California-Berkeley

With the hope that others will experience life’s most memorable moments, first, through his eyes, then their own, Harris shares his reflections on the uniqueness of ordinary experiences, the relationship of those moments to his natural world, and the impression these memories left with him. From “Arctic White” where “Tundra falls into Beaufort Sea, snow dissolves, translucent in ascendant sun,” to “Child of the Desert” where “Specks of shade in a solar sea cast their patterned light over an infant sleeping in a hammock gently rocked by grandmother sitting docile in her cobbled chair,” Harris couples beautiful imagery with lyrical verse to tell a relatable and emotional story.