Sea of Symphony

Hello again, dearest friend. I’ll be honest: I never really know what to write here. You came for my poetry, my stories, yet I want you to wait just a little longer while I give you an entrance, a median of some sort, for you to stand on as you exit your waking world and enter my written one. The only problem is, I never really know what to write. Which, in hindsight, is rather ironic for a writer, to be fair. I titled this section “Preface”—the before—simply because that’s how I’ve seen many authors begin their works, though I believe the exact term “preface” is meant to give you some insight or information to help you learn about what you are about to read. But there is no information to share that most scholars would require in a book such as mine. Perhaps this section would have been more promptly titled “Before You Begin”. Hmm. Something to consider for next time. But if I must attempt to inform, then I shall. This book, my stories, are works that I have diligently put together over the last five years. The events of my life, the encounters I’ve shared with others, and the environment I live in are all factors in what my stories are about and are the reason they sit before you on paper today. However, while many of my stories have a clear message in mind, all are up to interpretation of some kind. I once told my sister that imagery and emotion were what poems were all about. If a writer cannot make you see the people or feel the emotions they are feeling as you read them, then we have failed in our efforts as writers. That’s why I am so glad you are here to read this. I want you to read it, love it, hate it, understand it, be confused by it, and everything in between. And then it is my most fervent wish that you tell me why. Please, if you are ever given the chance, tell me why you loved it or hated it. Tell me which story you connected with the most or which one confused you so much that you became angry with it. And I thank you now for simply just reading my work is the most joyous wish you could have granted me. Just the idea of you makes my heart feel lighter, regardless of what your opinion of it will become. So thank you. Throughout this book, you will find evidence that I have been nervous and scared, thoughtful, with heart both heavy and light, and a lot on my mind. I believe most of my wonder and joy went into my last book, Wings, Dreams, and Realities. I wrote that book during my high school years, and you can tell just how much of a child I truly was if you go back and read it. This book, Sea of Symphony, is the first book I have written during my adult life. The first book I have made as a working-class citizen of my country. It may not be as dark as many poets seem to deem as appropriate for their works, but it certainly has a great deal more reality to it than my previous book could have hoped for. Regardless, I am proud of my work. Will there be times in the future when I may wish to go back and edit what has already been published? Yes, of course I will. Will I publish it anyway? To never publish my work, regardless of how bad I may think it to be, would truly be an inaction I could never forgive myself for. And I refuse to let my regrets be the central focus of my being. If I can take just another moment of your time, even if you don’t want to read most of the stories in here, I encourage you to read the “Acknowledgments” at the end. It may not mean much to you, but to me, it means the most, that the people I have to thank receive the credit they are due. If nothing else, please read about them. That is all I ask. Now, without further ado, welcome, my friend. Welcome to my Sea of Symphony!