This book is an Inspiration of Life from photographs. As a photographer, I roam around and take pictures of many things. Some of those pictures contain images where I see something in them. As a Poet, this sparks my imagination, my Muse, to poetically interpret that "something" into action. So a poem is born. I write about it, and ask the readers if they see it too That is the basis of this book of Animated Stills. The "stills" part comes from the photograph. The "animated" portion is where poet brings the perceived image to life for the reader. Animated stills are poems where inanimate objects take on human, animal, or spirit forms, traits, or articles. They are derived from Photographs I have taken, that have moved me to write a poem associated with it. I believe that photography and poetry go together well. One form paints a visual picture while the other creates a poetic image. Together, the synergy becomes very powerful. At least, that is what I hope I have achieved here. Here is an excerpt from Poem 26. Firebird, from which the cover photo is taken.