Kintsugi

Synopsis: This is my third book of original poetry. My first book, GIFTS, was published seventeen years ago in 2007. My second one, REGIFTS, was published eight years ago in 2016. As I said then, I seldom (if ever) sit down to write a poem intentionally. Poems come to me out of the blue-like presents in the mail from far-off friends. I can edit and polish them, re-wrapping and refining the original idea, but the real source of inspiration is always a mysterious gift. Sometimes, it comes from interactions with friends and family, and other times from my religious or musical families. Sometimes, it comes during trips to far-off places, and other times during quiet moments. In this book, I pass along these gifts to you. I hope you enjoy them.Autobiography: I received graduate degrees in Physics and Computer Science back in the 1970s. Much of my professional career was spent as a staff member at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, designing Air Traffic Control technologies. I was a partner in a microcomputer software firm for five years-we were one of the bidders on the IBM PC contract. (There but for fortune...) I’ve been a musician all my life (well, since the age of eight)-starting on the violin, then the guitar and autoharp. My journey to becoming a 'serious' poet began during my freshman year in college at the University of Michigan. All of us 'science nerds' were required to take at least one semester’s credit of English to graduate. I was dead set that I would not waste my time in any freshman English course. Fortunately, the U. of M. honors college had a special program that would let a student take any course that was offered, so long as the professor would accept you. I had dabbled with writing folk songs and parodies in high school, but with extreme nerve, I signed up for a graduate-level course in poetry composition to satisfy my English requirement. I’m not sure why Professor Hall accepted me into his course, but I can tell you that his class was the hardest ’B’ I’ve ever obtained in college-it made freshman Physics seem easy by comparison. Professor Donald Hall was the author of over 50 books across several genres, including children’s literature, biography, memoir, essays, and 22 volumes of verse. He was the 14th Poet Laureate of the United States. In most bookstores, poetry books are shelved alphabetically by the author’s name. My three thin volumes of original poetry are right there next to Donald Hall’s many books. I wonder if he knew what he had started when he let a freshman enroll in his class in 1968.