To every Gnome in Rome...and elsewhere. It has been said, that in order to master anything, to hone one's talents, whatever they may be, a person must first endure a gauntlet of suffering, including being pummeled by insults and derision from friends and family. This book is the culmination of suffering years of adversity from spouse, siblings, children, workplace peers, and even sometimes, my own self-condemnation. The title; "Pomes for Gnomes" comes from my love for fairy tales. The term "pome" actually has two definitions. One is a fruit with its seeds in the middle, such as an apple, and the other is a poetic form of "poem." My apologies to apples, I have chosen the latter. I have always been an avid reader and as a young boy I discovered the world of imagination in poetic literature. There is no limit to human imagination, and my favorite literature has always been science fiction, fairy tales, and fantasy. I grew up reading comic books and fairy tales, letting my imagination take me on a trip with the make-believe characters. When you read a story, you become the hero and you own the adventure, and when the story is a fantasy, you become a superhero. Someone once said that dreams are necessary to life, and I firmly believe that. In that regard, a fiction writer could be called a dream maker. This book is an expression of some of my dreams. Some of my "pomes" are an escape from reality, some may be a personification of it, and some are nonsensical. I hope you find them mostly humorous and entertaining. ---Ron Richie.