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.