One of the important things I learned when my poetry was first published was that, no matter how much time and effort I put into ensuring the poems were in what I thought was the right order, my readers would more likely randomly select a piece that caught their attention. It is no different when putting together a selection of poems from several volumes except that when Jude Aquilina did the choosing, I ended up with a very different image of me the writer than I had been aware of before. No longer locked into their chronological order, there emerged in the poems a more balanced perspective. The important things don't change. Depths once touched are always evident. Courage, strength, spirituality, wonder, bewilderment, joy and sorrow are all represented. Above all else, beating within the words and images there is a very thankful heart.