“I arrived in Baghdad and have a few hours of waiting at the US military airport base before taking the nighttime helicopter flight to the embassy. Our helicopters only fly at night, and with no lights. I found myself swept away by your poetry, by its gentleness, its messages of hope and rejuvenation, and the manner in which it exalts the transformational power that is always at our fingertips. And yet you touch on these themes in different and original ways that make each poem a pleasure to read. If I am reading them right, your poems appear to emerge from deep introspection, and from there you fashion your revelations and craft them in a manner that is profound, revealing, and easily understood. You urge your readers to wake up to new realities, to see new things, to imagine, to believe. There is a tranquility in your poems that allows the reader to sense the gentle silence of reflective moments, and touch what is fashioned out of the meditation. And you call on them to put away petty concerns and follow in the journey.”

↑