From the rollicking adventure saga “The Ballad of Calico Jones” to the 108 quatrains exploring a spirit’s adventures upon entering the physical universe as set out in “The Game of Life,” the poems of Lost in the Stars: Songs Out of Space and Time take a big bite out of life. There is nothing delicate or flowery about the poems in this volume. They were written to deliver an emotional impact on the reader as they spiral from the heights of serenity to the depths of despair. Their subjects range from the cold, bleakness of outer space to the warmth and joy contained in the magic of a child’s viewpoint. The poems in this volume address the subjects of love, adventure, and death without reservations of any kind. Some are as subtle as a punch to the mouth, and some as delicate as the unfolding of a flower. In total, Lost in the Stars: Songs Out of Space and Time is a spirit adventure set forth in a universe of unlimited possibilities.

Prior to the author embarking on writing this volume, he conducted an in-depth study of the subject of poetry in the English language in an attempt to identify common denominators which caused a poem to be preserved across generations. As a result of this study, four such common denominators were identified by the author. Some poems emphasized one of these four common denominators. Some contained several of them. Some contained all of them.

A list and description of the four common denominators of such “timeless” poetry as identified by the author can be found in “An Essay on Poetry” at the end of this volume. How successful the author was in incorporating these common denominators into poems in this volume, so that they do, indeed, withstand the “test of time,” will only be determined by future generations of readers. However, present readers can look forward to an adventure in poetry spanning a range of realities and emotions rarely found in a single volume.