There’s been whole a lot of buzz on podcasts and in the mainstream media these past few years about the success of psychedelics-based therapy to treat a variety of psychological conditions like PTSD, anxiety, and repressed trauma of all varieties and sorts.

Have you ever had a vague feeling about something deep down in your bones that something was going to happen but you can’t quite explain what it is? Some call it a premonition, foreglow, intuition, or presentiment. The poet in me tends to like the term foreglow the best. If you’ve ever experienced this first-hand you’ll know it’s a real conundrum that leaves you brimming with anticipation. I’m seeing signs often and in the most unlikely of places and am trying my best to interpret them.

"Turn it inside out and see what it is like-what it becomes like when old, sick, or prostituting itself. How short-lived the praiser and praised, the one who remembers and the remembered. Remembered in some corner of these parts, and even there not in the same way by all, or even by one. And the whole earth is but a mere speck." —MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 8.21

Why the poppy?I’ve been asked this question by some of those who’ve seen the draft copies of my new book’s cover and want to take the time to explain why I chose this particular flower. The simple truth is the image of a child holding a poppy blossom with an apocalyptic urban landscape behind him popped into my head one morning as I was thinking about what I wanted the cover to portray. Only after I began to think about the traditional symbolism behind the flower did I realize how serendipitous this bit of inspiration was.

"Here's a way to think about what the masses regard as being 'good' things. If you would first start by setting your mind upon things that are unquestionably good—wisdom, self-control, jus-tice, courage-with this preconception you'll no longer be able to listen to the popular refrain that there are too many good things to experience in a lifetime." —MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 5.12

Exciting news!I'll soon be announcing the pre-order date for my upcoming poetry collection, "Poems from the Edge of the Apocalypse", on Amazon.In the meantime, I'm looking for advance readers—bloggers, reviewers, and poetry lovers who’d be willing to read an early copy and share a post on social media and leave a review on Amazon when the book goes live.