This is a collection of poems inspired by love, loss of love, and other events that began in late July of 2000. This is my autobiography in poetry form. It's not just about love but also about the loss of those I have loved. I had fallen totally and...
I would like to start with the introduction to this collection that was written by my dear friend Thomas Childs back in 2010. I am republishing this collection again after it was first published back in January of 2010. At that time, I shared the collection with Thomas and asked him if he would write an introduction for me. By the end of the year, I would get married a second time and upon returning from my second marriage I heard the tragic news that my dear friend Thomas had died. This was not supposed to happen!
Thomas and I were just in our forties. I had married Elnaz Rezaei Ghalechi from Iran, traveled to Turkey to marry her, and had just spoken to my friend not long before this. It was surreal, a nightmare. I was in denial. A sudden heart attack took my friend in November of 2010. There is a hole in me that I will not fill in ever. That is how I keep my friend alive in me.
The following is the introduction written by Thomas.
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An Introduction
By Thomas Childs Jr.
I first met Bruce nearly twenty years ago. Looking back, we were both idealistic young men with high hopes for the future and a shared passion for poetry. Over the years, we got older and lost touch with each other. However, I feel an affinity with Bruce because even though over the years, we may have gone through trials and tribulations, we have BOTH learned from them. We may have been beaten down, but not defeated. We have not let our demons that haunted us have the last word... and one thing I can say about Bruce is that he has channeled all the hurt and pain he experienced into his poetry.
In the wistful "Dreamlike Visions" and "The Whole Story", he talks about a hopeful vision of love that is over too soon and the possibilities of what could have been... but will, instead, never be. "Tears for Grandmother's Passing" is a coming to grips with a loss of a loved one. The collection of Christian poems paints a picture of rediscovered spirituality. My personal favorite, however, is "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder." In his reflection of that poem, Bruce mentions the poet Anne Sexton's struggles with depression and psychiatric hospitalization and says "She (Sexton) never made it all the way back. I am so glad I did." That makes two of us, my friend... I CAN relate.
In closing, it is my hope that you enjoy this collection of Bruce Whealton's poems. In fact, Bruce, I thank you for asking me to write this introduction. It was a singular honor to grant your request. You put your heart and soul for all to see into your writing and we, as readers, are richer for it.
