Divine Crocodile

I want to thank you mother for opening my heart to
emotional fire. I thank you father for showing me rational
sensibility and responsibility. I want to thank the poets, Rilke,
Gibran, Ginsberg, Elliot, Cummings, Rumi and Shakespeare
who woke me up from infantile slumber. Gratitude
to the poetry and songs of Leonard Cohen still echoing in
my heart. My debt to the teachings of Buddha, Jung and
the practice of yoga for providing me a perspective of the
world. I also acknowledge and graciously thank the friendship
and support of The Meeting House Poets (Cassandra
Angelo, Richard Diagle, Suzy Lamson, Clare Mazur, Esther
McCune, Kathleen McEvoy, Sandy Sergio, Isabelle Smith,
and Andy Weatherwax) who made it OK to call myself a
poet. My humble thanks for the encouragement and dear
friendship with Dominic Failla whose passion for the poetic
word remains endless. To the memory of John Deeks, a
lost friend, who encouraged me to move beyond conformity.
I am also grateful to my decades long friendship with
Shawn Osinski and our constant "throwing the bones". I
must not forget my friend Jim Scherer whose decades of
dedicated and articulated sharing of Carl Jung's teachings
gave me an understanding of the wisdom of the psyche.
I cannot close without acknowledging my loving partner
and closest friend, Patricia, who has put up with me, endured
hardships, shared love, questioned ourselves along
the road and never forgetting the importance of humor
as we continue our long journey together. Finally, I want
to thank all my friends and all my enemies who made up
my small world and who have knowingly or unknowingly
shaped my life.