I was inspired to write this poem by my loving brother. He is handicapped. Some people that have seen my brother just see the physical part of him - his looks. They don't see or want to see the wonderfulness within him.

This poem is about finding out the true beauty within.

Everyone has their own different interpretations of each poem. So, I'm not going to tell you how you're supposed to grasp it, but rather explain why I wrote it.

My mother is extremely special to me and I love her more than words could explain. She's protected me, listened to me, never judged me, or tried to choose for me. She's always been there right behind me. If I fell she would catch me and hold me. She wouldn't let go till I was sure I wanted to try it again. I can't remember a time when she wasn't there for me and I doubt I ever will.

My mother, my best friend, my angel, my world - it's her who sheds love, laughter, and endless happiness to my life.

This poem is written about my grandmother who died about 5 years ago. I was very close to my grandmother and her loss was very hard on me. It is about what we used to do together before she was sick, and then how she and "us" changed as she got sicker.

I know everyone that reads this has a special person in your life, so give that person a hug and tell them how much you love them. Because you never know when they will be gone forever.

This poem is to my father. He had a stroke 4 years ago and now I am dealing with it. No one understands why it affects me the way it does, because he is still alive. But in my eyes that isn't my dad and it's so hard to see him that way. It's awful to see exactly what I want, but it's really not him.

My grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease when I was 18 years old. Over the course of the past 10 years she has slowly left us all alone. Her memories of us have left her, although mine of her have not.

My poem is about some of those special memories that I have of her and of how very much I miss her.

This poem truly expresses what comes from a mother's heart. When my son was about to turn 18, I decided to start writing poetry again. This was one of the first poems I wrote. It is an intimate detail of how I feel about him.

I gave it to him on his 18th birthday last month. He sobbed uncontrollably as he read it.

I wrote this during my first year at college while I was four hours away, and began to realize how great moms really are.

This poem is about my relationship to my father and the difficulty of its changing aspects as he faces old age and illness. At these times, some of us question our own mortality and our connection to parents and other family members as we face the past and the unknowable future.

This poem, published in Sparowgrass, Fall 1999, was written to express my feelings regarding my father - both my love and admiration.

I wrote this poem because my sisters, once again, hurt me. I'm a little more sensitive then they, but they don't realize what they say hurts me. I think they should be a little more kind and appreciate their baby sister. Sometimes a kid feels that they need to be perfect in order to live up to their siblings expectations.