Richard 🍃

~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~

"PLEASE, ENJOY BROWSING BACK AND THROUGH ANY OR ALL OF MY WRITINGS"
Poetry never grows old; so, read anything you wish … and, don't forget to show your gratitude and respect by leaving a meaningful review for my generosity in sharing some of my most earnest efforts.
Your comments and feedback are the only thanks I'll receive for my hard work.

~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~

"INTRODUCTION"
Greetings all! I am a simple man, who is a skilled veteran writer of easy to read and understand poetry.
I enjoy studying, reading, composing, and sharing poetry in many forms and genre.
My works can be found in published hardback and soft-cover books, in numerous anthologies, and online on over a dozen international writing sites. 🌸

~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~

"AS A WRITERS' CAFE MEMBER"
"I enjoy making friends; and, if you are new to The Writers' Cafe, I welcome you.
If you wish to be my friend, I ask that you introduce yourself by reading and reviewing my work beforehand … I will do the same. If you send a friend request without doing so, I may not oblige you.
I like everyone and want all to do their best, so please, take no offense if I try to help you.
I am serious about poetry and give meaningful, constructive reviews, and if you do not comment on my reviews and review me in return, I will not review you again, because I am here to enjoy, share, interact, and learn from others' works and critique."
NOTE: I very rarely review or critique books or stories, unless specifically asked to do so … as a common poet, I don't possess the adequate eloquence or proper skills, but there certainly are many excellent writers on here who have them and do.

~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~

"ABOUT THE POET"
I consider it an honor and a pleasure to be here amongst you all, to share and mutually enjoy our writings.
Most of my formative and succeeding years have been spent reading, studying, composing, and teaching poetry, playing guitar/singing, building/architecture, martial arts, and so forth … learning and becoming, at least, proficient at those things I consider worthwhile and useful to others and myself.
I am deeply and passionately romantic, loyally discreet, and above all … trustworthy.
I compose poetry for myself and my lady and fellow poetess' and poets' enjoyment and enlightenment. I, also, have created almost 20 original poetic forms that I will be thrilled to share with anyone who is interested in trying any (or all) of them.
I hope my humble and earnest poetic efforts here will be enjoyed by many; and, if you have well-meant, constructive critique or comments, please, feel free to offer them, because I've never learned much of anything new from myself.
Keep a cool head, don't be afraid to give, live, and love; I think it's the only real way to deserve receiving and enjoying ⁓ much love to one and all. 🍃

"SOME OF MY FAVORITE NOTED POETS"
Rod McKuen, Edgar Allan Poe, William Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, Pablo Neruda, Walt Whitman, Rudyard Kipling, John Keats, Dylan Thomas, Sylvia Plath, Kahlil Gibran, etc; too many to easily recall.

"SOME EXCELLENT AND INTERESTING WRITERS' CAFÉ POETS"
Ahnjolie McKenna, barleygirl, Beccy, Colton Warr, Crowley, David Lewis Paget, DIVYA, Dr. YumnaKay, emipoemi, Einstein Noodle, emmajoy, h d e rushin (Dana), Kathryn Smith, 
Kathy Van Kurin, Kelly Scheppers, Light (Ghounwah), Linda Marie Van Tassell, Lyn Anderson, mattavelli, MsJewel (Julie), Relic (Tim), Sammi, Susan Capozzi, Tate Morgan, William Liston, etc; this is, by no means, a complete list … just a few to get you started until you meet more of the excellent poets on the Café. Enjoy! : )

~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~

"MY BLOGS"
Click on "Blog" at the right of my avatar, to share, learn, and interact
on the following poetically enlightening and helpful topics of interest.

Introduction: NEED HELP?
"What Becoming A Poet Requires and Means"
I. *⁓LETTER LACE⁓* (presentation frills)
II. A COMMENTARY ON REVIEWING
III. WELCOMING A NEWCOMER
IV. CRITIQUE VERSUS CRITICISM
V. WHOM DO WE THINK WE'RE KIDDING?
VI. WILL THE REAL POETRY PLEASE STAND UP!
VII. WHAT IN THE HECK IS POETIC VOICE?
VIII. IAMBICS: (what is this and why is it important?)
IX. SYNTAX & POETIC SYNTAX
X. ON FREE VERSE & FREESTYLE POETRY

You may find something useful or enlightening, even enjoyable in any or all of my blogs. Please, feel free to comment, add to, debate, agree, or disagree with anything I've said in them.
Remember, I'm just another poet, sharing in a world of poetesses and poets … so, please, be respectful; and, be sure to leave a comment, feedback, critique, etc; as these took considerable time and effort to write, format, and share.

And, check out my poetry course, "WHAT MAKES POETRY POETRY?"

LESSON I. What Is A Poem?
LESSON II. What Is Meter? (and why is it important?)
LESSON III. Write A Poem

~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~ ~··~