Dear Readers, At the genesis of this chapbook, I set out to write poems about things that were actually worth writing about. So I picked up a pen, some napkins, and started jotting words. I opened my eyes, ears, hands, and heart. And after picking up a laptop to compile it all, I found that this, my first book of poems, was about love and loss. I write to capture moments of love as they truly are: broken, fleeting, sinful and painful, yet still beautiful. I write with the resolve that such snapshots matter, for if they do not, what does? I write about stories full of culture & family, privilege & struggle, faith & doubt, power & weakness. Stories that take place in Oakland, DF, UCLA, East San Jose, Linda Vista, and Nicaragua. I write about things and places that have been dynamic in the past year. I write in the USA in a time when it is grappling to understand itself as its culture changes with eagle speed…. Sincerely, Sam.