Kindle Edition Amazon Official Author Site of Eric M. Black Amazon Category:  Poetry Publisher: America Star Books ISBN-10:  141374415X Type: Fiction Pages: 66 Copyright: March 31, 2005 Price: $1.99 (eBook) Collection of poetry by Eric M. Black published by America Star Books (2005). Recalling memories of his early twenties, Eric M. Black takes us through hardships, losses, experiences of early adulthood and eventually true love.    This collection of poetry describes not only the life of one young man as he moves his way into adulthood but of a soul that is tried and tried again, only to come out clean and professing love.  This collection discusses what God is to an unbelieving society, what thoughts go through the minds and souls of a twenty-something generation, what is funny, what makes us happy and what is love?   These poems are inspired by classical poets but also by a modern world of tragedy, apathy and hopes.  These poems describe an eight-year progression from an uncertain young man to the world of business, marriage, children and beyond. "Love the cover of AN OLD MAN." -poet and author .jennyburnley1 "Celebrate poetry month with AN OLD MAN." -author .sherry_foley Excerpt Washing the Soul Eric M. Black © 2004 Eric M. Black I Who can hear, the ever-clear, with the shadows tap, tapping away? Who can hear, my tears (away), when the soul is filled with grey? Washing the soul was a mighty task One not for you perhaps, yet one for me to undertake For tis my calling from God My duty to myself to be myself One who has been lost for a long time Wonders if who he knows he is, is really a dream Memories fade fast, faster than we would will them Time slips by, sometimes years go by Ashes pile upon till we no longer see; we are blind But if we take time to remove the ashes, Realize them for what they represent We begin to slowly feel the heat from the remaining embers below As the clock turns forward once again we find new ways to fuel the fire Making it burn brightly, reaching others, And life goes on… II Therefore, the flame to us is now as we would will it, We breathe free, we speak free, Godspeed the injured-one’s journey back to himself, Back to self-respect Back to righteousness Back to who he would like to be, not as the fear makes him to be As a child, he did not grow up with a desire to be nothing, With nothing in his heart Creating a darkness that spreads easy; a cloth, once unfolded. The cloth is rounded, with edges not easy to find Its blackness is such that no light can escape through the outside to he who is trapped within. Time trapped does not matter, or seem so important as once anticipated As the man knows, now he is a man, He is unafraid to show this to the world, as he was before To not make this break means not to live And that alone is hell…

Beautiful, thoughtful
Beautiful, thoughtful, and intense all at the same time. The complexity, mixed with simple genuine truth you feel from Eric M. Black's words will leave you reflective and refreshed. A great book of poetry to read alone or as a group for discussion.

GREAT BOOK ON LIFE AND LOVE
This book of poetry takes readers through Eric's early adulthood memories. On the surface this is life experiences by a younger man, but taking the time to read deeper; to read between the lines, shows a man who has suffered from loss and heartache time and again, but has risen above so many things that could have taken him into a deep depression. Instead, Eric chose to write about his trials and to ask for help along the way as needed, bringing us a man who has found his way in life filled with love.

Had Dr. Seuss been more traditionally poetic...
I'm not a poet, don't profess to understand the nuances of poetry and only wish from time to time that I could weave words the way those with such given talent find themselves able. Mr. Black's work is haunting and lovely, sort of like a collection of old photograph you've found hidden in a drawer. The poems weren't written one after the other over a few days. Instead, they're snippets of a life - every life - bound together for the reader to discover time and again. The thing that most intrigues me about this work is that even though we can identify the general time frame within Mr. Black's life and when a given poem was written, there's an eternal quality about each offering. Thus, we progress from college days to married days to the birth of children with events along the way that shape a life but we can go back to the first poem and find ageless relevance.

What Dr. Seuss taught us in "Oh, the Places You'll Go" so Mr. Black teaches us in this collection. It's not about what happens but the attitude you have. And, yes, it is about what happens, the places, the people, the very faith of the matter that makes it all worthwhile. I'm not a poet, but I'm a better person for having read this poet's work. It's taken me so long to write a review because Mr. Black's words have quite literally hit me so many times. Unexpected? Yes. Recommended? You bet!