The Details Of The World

Joining The Military Is Not To Be Taken Lightly. You're Putting Every Part Of Yourself At Risk, Not Just Your Body But Your Moral And Spiritual Centre.

As Human Beings, We Have The Blessing And The Curse That We're Able To Adapt To Almost Anything. No Matter How Extreme The Circumstances You're In, They Become Normal.

I Had The Feeling That If I Encountered Anyone They Would Intuit My Disgrace And Would Judge Me Instantly. Nothing Is More Isolating Than Having A Particular History. At Least That's What I Thought. Now I Know: All Pain Is The Same. Only The Details Are Different.

There Are Definitely Connections Between Poems, But I Wanted Each To Stand On Its Own. I Guess It Goes Back To The Idea Of Trying To Zoom In And Out, And To Modulate, So There Are Different Ways Of Looking At Any Experience For The Reader. Even Having Short Poems And Long Poems - There Has To Be Some Kind Of Variation In The Experience Of Reading As A Whole.

One Of The Things My Service In Iraq Did Give Me Was This Freedom From Fear Of Failure Or Any Kind Of Expectations That I Had To Take A Standard Path.