I fall far short of my own definition of a poet—a master at having something to say worth saying and knowing how to say it in an ear-pleasing way, and from whom lines of verse flow as naturally as notes from a violin. Believe me, poetic thoughts and words do not flow naturally from my brain. First of all, it takes an inspiration of magnitude to get me in a poetic frame of mind. Then I have to struggle and sweat to squeeze each appropriate word out onto paper. Nonetheless, I've managed to squeeze out quite a few over the years. Here are some: