Thoughts from the author: I wrote this poem for my cousin Lissa during the Summer of 1995, a very prolific period of writing for me. Lissa was going through the deep heartache of a relationship, and I composed a few poems for her as tokens of comfort...
One August day I received a surprise card from my cousin in the mail. She wrote, "I'm very glad and thankful to have you as my cousin and dear friend." She also told me to continue my poetry; that it brightened a lot of people's lives. What she said meant so very, very much to me...
This power of poetry to touch others is one reason why I write...
As for the poem itself, I think I was influenced by a book of amazing Emily Dickinson verse I perused that summer. This great 19th Century poet had a provocative way of saying things and a great sense of rhyme...
By the way, my cousin Lissa later went on to marry "NYPD Blue" star Nicholas Turturro...
- Raymond