
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.

The poppy on the cover of Poems from the Edge of the Apocalypse serves as a kind of warning and a requiem. Traditionally, the flower is a symbol of remembrance and the sleep of death but now it blooms on the threshold of a novel epoch. We’re on the cusp of an age where artificial general intelligence threatens to completely unravel, radically redefine, or thoughtfully preserve the essence of humanity.
As we teeter on the edge of a post-human world, the poppy becomes a symbol of all we risk forgetting: the beauty in fragility, the weight of existence, the poetry of being human. In an era racing toward machine consciousness, it stands as a reminder of our soft, volatile, and often fallible souls—of which may soon be overshadowed. As the lines begin to blur between the organic and the artificial the poppy is a gentle reminder of the importance of holding on to what makes us human.

On another note—
To celebrate launch day (announcement coming soon), I’ll be offering a limited run of 20 autographed copies of Poems from the Edge of the Apocalypse. Each book will come with a bonus poppy pin—(pictured above) a small emblem of remembrance, fragility, and resistance.
U.S. Domestic shipping is included.
If you're ordering from outside the U.S., an additional shipping fee will apply.
Stay tuned for the release date—these will go quickly.
Launch Team Deadline Approaching! (Friday, April 25th)
I'll be taking volunteers for the book's launch team for a couple more days.
A heartfelt thank you to all of you who've already signed up!
If you're interested just send me an email to -
ericvancewalton@gmail.com with the subject line "Launch Team". In a few weeks I'll send you a PDF of the book to read and to write an Amazon review. These early book reviews are absolutely vital to a self-published book's success.
The release date will be announced very soon!
~Eric Vance Walton~
Be well, make the most of this day. Thank you for reading!
(Photos are original. Gif sourced from Giphy.com)
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