I can think of no better reward for all the time, energy, thought and effort I put into this project than to have it be so well used and enjoyed. Deep and resounding gratitude to you, my friend, for listening, for allowing the songs to find a home in your private world of sensation and meaning. Thanks also, very much, for supporting me and it, not just all those years, by your engagement and encouragement, but also lately, in buying a copy. I hope that it will, like the ideal suit of clothes, continue to grow and stretch along with the ever-changing configurations of the life situation, as that is what it is intended for. I realize that's a lofty goal, to put it mildly, and that I am allying myself with Eliot's "poetry for all time/s" position rather than Williams' "poetry for this moment" position, but I guess I won't try and deny the hand I've shown. Here's to self-discovery, aided by our friends, whom I count as my greatest wealth.

One of the poets I studied under in grad school once told me he had a small collection of readers that constituted his micro-audience. Yeah, he cared how the wider world tangled with his verse, but mainly drew his feedback, both in terms of critique and the gratifying energy exchange, from a small group of friends who cared about his work. I have adopted that strategy, at least ad hoc, and am grateful to count you as a (perhaps unwilling) member.