Poetry

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When I compiled my first poetry book, Mother - Daughter Lines, I intentionally left out a number of verses I had written over the years. First, they did not seem to fit with the first book. Second, they were far too voluminous in number to be included. Last, I was not ready to share them and their emotional baggage with a world that included my husband, for whom a separate mass of poetry had been created over the course of our relationship.

Here are those missing verses. This group of poems shares a common theme, one that seemed to occupy my thoughts a great deal for much of my life--the many faces of love, especially the passion-inspiring love of female for male, girl for boy and woman for man. Perhaps it is natural that I would write romantic fiction, also. Now in my fourth year of widowhood and the last quarter of my life's pattern, it is finally time to share these heartfelt lines, blood, tears, warts and all.

From the age of twelve of so when I developed my first crush all the way through to my later years, I had a proclivity for developing attachments which were neither productive or in many cases reciprocated. The memories of these people and the effects they had on my life came to be as shadows, casting darkness over much of my character and endeavors. I thought to exorcise them by throwing open to the light of day the overwrought words they had inspired. This is to be an exercise in capturing and controlling the errant emotions, eradicating their lingering ill-effects.

Cursorial hunters such as humans and the wolves with which we early became partners traditionally hunt by running or walking down their prey. This involves following in dogged pursuit until the quarry is exhausted and can be captured. Thus the title of this book. In it, I am walking down my shadows in an attempt to gain mastery over them. In other ways, I know I spent much of my life following shadows instead of forging ahead into the light, so it also represents a failing or weakness in my life's behavior. Perhaps others may gain wisdom through reading my words without having to do the same thing for three score years to see it.

Gwynn Morgan May 2007