Welcome to Along the Trail, a thirty‑year journey in verse. You may wonder why the seeds are on the cover — that tiny acorn of an idea. Over decades, each seed of inspiration in these pages has taken root, sprouting into the sturdy oaks of feeling and reflection you now hold in your hands.

When I first picked up a pen, my poems were playful laments of lost love and youthful anguish. Those raw, unguarded emotions—heartbreak, joy, longing—became the very fuel for my craft. As I grew, so did my work: each new poem built on the ones before, forming a winding trail through memory, hope, and discovery.

Deep feeling lies at the heart of every great work of art—whether it’s a novel, a song, or a painting. In these pages you’ll find poems born from laughter and tears, from the ordinary and the extraordinary moments that shape a life. My hope is that, like an acorn, each “seed” of emotion here will take root in your own heart, and grow into something you carry with you long after the final page is turned.

Thank you for joining me on this trail. May these poems inspire you to plant your own seeds—and watch them grow.