The Poet of East Fifth Street

Writing a book of poetry, even one as small as this one, has given me a new respect of those poets I have read throughout my 82-years. It also informed me of their motivation, because it is mine also. I have written books and articles, and it has given me a lot of pleasure when someone praised my efforts, but the first time someone told me how much they liked a poem I had written I felt it stayed with me, and made me want to write something, that would bring me that praise again. I believe a writer has to have a thick skin, and it has never hurt me to have someone say they didn't care for an article: but a poem owns part of a poet's heart, makes them a lot more vulnerable to that pain of rejection.