by Tom Lathara (Author)
'As the tender shoots unfurls ...'We may not have met yet; It's my hope that we will, as you enjoy these poems. Just as we breathe the same air regardless of our stations in life, we share the same basic life experiences. We are on the same journey. We share the same essentials for this journey - cosmic energy, the sun, stars, earth, water, air. The rest mostly fluff, flit and float about like broken clouds. We feel that we own them even while it is slipping away at its will. This is not to blithely deny the chasm that exists among people but to allude to our undeniable commonalities. Poems in this collection, while born in the illimitable expanse of imagination, were nurtured and nourished by family and friends. It is an attempt to capture fleeting moments of life, trace the outline of the teardrop that fell on the rock and shattered, gently snatch an anguished sigh in a bottle or the exuberant laughter on a colorful canvas. Seemingly ordinary moments in life often carry with them precious promises like a tender joey in its mother kangaroo's pouch. The poem 'One Shot' is the reminder of the finality of each moment. 'Truth' is a gentle invitation to reappraise our notions and perceptions of events around us. 'Pretend life' is a soft nudge at our fondly held images. One of the beautiful vantages of living in Chicago, is the opportunity to observe different seasons in all its allure, vivacity and unforgiving ferocity, just as in many lives. Poems in this collection articulate a spectrum of life experiences, inspiring, cleansing, cathartic, contemplative - to mention a few. Perhaps, you will recognize a slice of your soul in one of the poems in this volume. You are lovingly invited to explore and savor them in Love, Like a River.