From My Heart—The Backstory

When my daughter Erin asked me if I would be interested in letting her publish a small collection of my poems, I was deeply touched and honored. Of course I said yes! Erin is not only a gifted writer herself; she is also a talented artist and entrepreneur, as you can see throughout this website she recently created and launched. 

It means a lot to me for my own daughter to publish this first printed book of my poems, especially at this stage of my life. You see, I began writing poems in earnest during my college years more than fifty years ago. I’m still writing, now more than ever. 

From Personal Expression to Publishing

Back then I wrote as a kind of self-therapy as I attempted to express my deepest, most private feelings, and to try to make sense of things. I suppose these early poems were my way of “journaling in verse.” I loved to experiment with different forms and techniques in hopes of finding my own voice as a poet, and as a young man with something unique and important to say. Eventually. 

After many years of writing, experimenting, and applying the craft of poetry to what was most important and meaningful to me, I began to sense the time would soon come for publishing some of my work. I don’t pretend to be a great poet, just one “with something unique and important” for me to say in the way I like to say it: simply, authentically, and from the heart. 

Connecting with a Wider Audience

One of my early poems was an elegy I wrote to honor my paternal grandmother after her passing in 1976. I printed copies of the poem and made it available at her funeral. Forty-eight years later, I discovered that someone I didn’t even know posted my poem on my grandmother’s page on Ancestry.com. What a wonderful surprise to know that this same someone was moved enough by what I wrote to add it to Granny’s life story, and that my poem continues to honor her today! 

It was on that day, with that discovery, when I knew it was time to look for opportunities to publish—to give the best of me from my whole life’s experience.

Enter Erin, at the perfect time with the perfect opportunity. Whether you read my poems presented here on her website or in this new book, Peace Blooms in Still Waters, know that they are all truly from my heart...and now to yours. 

🌊📜Your Message in a Bottle:

Does this conversation stir up anything within you—maybe a similar story? Does poetry allow you to process your emotions or give your inspiration a voice?

Here is a snapshot of Daniel mulling things over during his college years.