AFTERWORD

A great many ideas and inspirations- from both within and without- go into the writing of any book of fiction. I’ve written eight of them so far, and each one of them has been a vastly different experience, with respect to which ideas hit me when and so on and so forth- and so I would like to thank, without naming, all the different little chapters in my life. Neither the journey, nor the words, would ever have been quite the same without you. Even if you were not noticing these individual and beguiling moments of beauty, clarity and striking definition- I was rhyming and cataloging them, all the same.

Beauty comes in many strange disguises, culminating in many glorious aberrations, and most times we only recognize it later, after the fact. If not noticing these things at the time was my sin, then I hope that my salvation lies in the telling of the tale. Everyone will see flashes of themselves, but please- in the spirit of fair judgment- pull back and take in the entire picture. If there is any blame, it is mine. I did the best I could.

Beauty is both harsh and terrible in its blinding swiftness. Sometimes it hurts- and sometimes it doesn’t. By the time that it occurs to you to cling to it- it’s already gone. It is a lesson always known but never learned. Some of you aided me, while others impeded me- but in any instance, you invaded my processes, and for this I swear that I am eternally grateful to you.

It is a difficult and dicey business, at best, to attempt to measure the beauty in the spaces between the spaces, but that’s exactly the task at hand when you’re trying to create a work of truth, beauty and timelessness. Some people helped, and some people helped with hindrance. These myriad interruptions came in many forms, and sometimes they were a blessing.

Sometimes, though, they were a curse, and those are the people I’m thinking of as I write these last few lines. It has been said that hate is a wasted emotion and is the equivalent of letting people live rent-free inside of your head. I try to not act out this scenario, and I try to not look back in anger. It does no one any good in the long run. But I DO remember. If I’m being purposefully vague here, those of you who are curious know why. And those of you that I’m speaking of know exactly who the fuck you are.