We all have felt the pleasure and pain of love, of unrequited love and of course, the ups and downs that come with it. I'm sure we've all also felt the fear of doing something wrong as we get to know someone new. I have attempted to write down those feelings in verse for enjoyment. In some cases to relive those early moments and their exhilaration and in some cases to relieve the pain of the ending that sometimes follows. It's a bittersweet moment as I see this collection of poetry come to print. Not only because of the effort to write and the gauntlet of emotions I went through as I wrote, but also because during the process I lost my home, but found a new one. I had to part with several furry friends to make the move, even though I was able to save a good portion of them as well. I have always been a cat lover, they fascinate me. As I was working on this collection, I had been adopted by 18 cats who wandered onto my property at various times. I was more than happy to water down the soup so to speak and accept their friendship in return. The loss of the ones I couldn't save though has made me decide to use a portion of the proceeds from these books sales to found and fund a no kill shelter specializing in my feline friends, who seem to have fewer and fewer supporters in this world today.