Today, November 1, 2023, after sending off my own donations for a couple of fellow writers, and thanks to their instigation, I am throwing my metaphorical hat back into the ring, with a couple of caveats, confessions, fair warnings: I fear my writing life has been “trumped” often and persistently, ever since 2017, by some major distractions, which could affect both the quality and the quantity of the poetry I’m about to invite you to sponsor.

Two of the distractions are now in First Grade, and they do provide inspiration as well as interruptions, living practically next door. At the other end of life’s spectrum are all the current worldly worries asking for attention and coloring much of my writing. Advance apologies for the dark ones and many thanks if you choose to support immigrants, literacy, and learning in this way, thereby also supporting me in my efforts to capture the incredible and chronicle the inexorable in a few lucky words every day. I promise to share all the printable results as I go through this rare (in my life) exercise in discipline!