St. Angela Merici and the Ursulines (1880)

COME BEFORE WINTER Come to me, my dear friend and bring the dreams I left behind. Summer days are long with despair as I miss the nights of abundant breezes, nestled in contentmentas safe arms. Come with the laughter we shared before our lives turned cold in the bitter hours of dying affections. Bring my poetry and music, for I need things of beauty to brighten colorless days. Come to me soon, I implore you, because my days of vision and enchantment are dwindling behind walls of isolation and lamentation. Dear friend, please try to come before wintera] all may be lost by then. In this, his second book of introspective poetry, author of Candles in the Darkness, Richard Keith Carlton, pours heart, soul and spirit into this bittersweet collection of all the seasons of life, its passion and pain. In his inimitable blend of prose, poetry, narrative and free verse, Mr. Carlton has penned words that will long live in the readeras heart. Darkness and light, heartbreak and triumph share each line, verse and stanza. Herein lies the experience and memory of one well versed in the school of living.