I’m going to stop sharing my poems, at least for a bit.

It's just getting too much for me. I had multiple therapists tell me that I should share my writing, and I have given it a try. I know they have touched some people, and inspired my peers, but writing has always been a deeply personal thing for me. It's the act of writing that is something I'm driven to do. The end result is a dried husk, the corpse (at risk of being too dramatic), of what I do. Taking it out and showing it around feels somehow disrespectful. I will always be grateful to Haley, Reece, and Nicholas (sorry for any misspellings) for being graceful and kind to a strange old man showing poems about you.

I do have to say, if it weren't for Haley's beautiful smile, I wouldn't be writing again so you, Haley, have changed my life for the better. Thank you.