Finding a New Place

I must admit, attempting to tackle this whole book idea
has been growing a bit frustrating to the point where I
began developing an acute case of paranoia. I mean,
I actually consider this project a direct reflection of who
I am as a person, an author, an African American, a male,
a heterosexual, a father, ect. Taking the last two days to
read Capturing Sunrays in a Glass Jar has place several
things in perspective. The revision process had been

theraputic on so many levels which were confirmed while

reading Donald Justice's Collected Poems (see pic cover

above), my new book of choice for the moment.

In it, T. S. Elliot writes,

"...but the essential advantage for a poet is not, to have

a beautiful world with which to deal; it is to be able to see

beneath both beauty and ugliness; to see the boredom,

and the horror, and the glory."

Talk an instant moment of clarity. Initially, I'd wondered

if I should publish certain pieces because I thought

they'd be too offensive, too riske, or too raw for the

typical reader. Now I understand, the more I embrace

the hidden, darker places within the better, more indepth

my poetry. Look out world, your boy is ready...