I started writing poetry when my grandmother Faye died. I was 13 and my parents had been recently divorced. It was a time of great loss and mourning. I needed an outlet for my deep sorrow at losing the one woman who was like a mother to me, who gave me unconditional love and support. My first volume, “City Wine” was completed in my teens. Since then I’ve been published in magazines and online journals. Rainier Maria Rilke has been an inspiration as have several Native American poets, Japanese anonymous haiku masters to Lao Tzu.