What Came First...

InkSpotter Publishing released its first book, Paper Wings...a slim volume of my poetry...in October 2006.

As both writer and publisher, I enjoyed a certain measure of control over the book. No query letters or slush piles here! But getting the book into print was an important first step towards publishing the work of other writers.

Since older books tend to be forgotten, I thought it might be nice to push/pull/thrust Paper Wings back into the low-wattage spotlight for a moment.

The first poem in the book is also titled "Paper Wings" and is offered here as a humble sample.


Paper Wings

I grew up with a love of words,
Reading all my mind could hold:
A traveler to far flung lands,
Soaring on paper wings.
Reading all my mind could hold,
I felt the words push out again,
Soaring on paper wings
Over worlds of my design.
I felt the words push out again,
Alive and ripe for sharing
Over worlds of my design,
Mapped without border lines.
Alive and ripe for sharing,
A traveler to far flung lands,
Mapped without border lines—
I grew up with a love of words.