4This book is a collection of poems that have been enjoyed by audiences during public readings as well as individuals through private sharing. A variety of themes are covered, ranging from the revisiting of pleasant memories and the descriptions of places or events, to portraits of virtue, and the quest for greater meaning relative to circumstances. Some of them are intentionally profound. The intent of the collection was not that each poem would be universally liked by everyone, but that readers could easily identify the poems, or parts of poems, that they like best. As a result, some of the meanings may seem specific, but alternative or extended concepts also apply. Even those that seem overly simplistic suggest depth beneath them to be considered if the reader wishes to do so. There are style changes and inclusion of rhyme to provide a sense of mood rather than conform the poem to conventional writing standards. Imagery and word groupings were designed to allow each poem to have intrinsic values of its own. A two-part exercise is included to enable the reader to interact more closely with the poetry. What about it was liked or disliked? What changes would be suggested? In these two exercises the reader is given the opportunity to evaluate the writing on the basis of how they feel about it. This may prove to be more enjoyable than the actual reading of the poem. It is a chance to extend from passively perusing it to actively engaging the mind with it. It offers a feeling of accomplishment by allowing personal evaluation of it. These are poems that invite thought, feeling, and discussion. Their purpose is to entertain by thinking about them. Whether enjoying them privately from the comfort of an easy chair, or having lively critiques about them at book club meetings, they were well received as separate pieces and are now presented as a collective work.