You have a very nice writing style and make it easy for your reader to identify with your words...You have a wonderful compilation and have crafted an excellent piece. Bravo!" -A literary review commentary Alexander Pope, in his An Essay on Criticism, wrote of a mythical and sacred fountain in ancient Macedonia known as the Pierian Spring. All those who drank from the spring, it was told, were taught and endowed with great knowledge and inspiration. Comparing this to our life experiences, pleasant or not, can be as "teachers" as if we drank deeply as though from our own personal Pierian Spring. When we are put upon by good and bad May we embrace "whatever is" life brings And learn from each though glad or sad Cannot life be as a Pierian Spring? -From As a Pierian Spring As I have written poems about past, present and future life experiences, I began to think about how we can or should view those events and what they ought to mean to us. I discovered poetry can also parallel the Pierian Spring experience, if permitted. So, as you read and consider some of the poems in this anthology, open your mind and think beyond the mere words, to a fuller meaning these symbols might convey. Sound words in poetry, well chosen and thoughtfully placed, serve as tips of truth. Words are pointers for our senses For things they represent Of mysteries behind invisible fences Ours to learn their full intent. -From Tips of Truth