Note to My Readers

Writing is such a lonely thing. It's like preparing a meal for a diner you'll never meet. I always wonder if there's too much, or too little seasoning. Is my meal too tepid to be appetizing? I simply put it out there and hope somebody has an appetite.

These poems are small slices of my life. They are, in no sense, a chronological disposition of my experiences. They describe all kinds of sorrows and pleasures, of every stripe and color...just like your life! We have all been loved, been hated, cheated, been cheated on, laughed, cried, lived and died. That's the human experience, and it transcends culture and language. All I'm trying to do is capture my experience and project it onto your screen. I'm just never certain it's in focus.

I selected the name Dashboard Poet not because of a computer "dashboard," but because much of my view of life comes across the dashboard of my truck (or sometimes over the dash of a patrol car. You see a lot of life in 20 years in that kind of transport!). My writing seems to ride a crest between free verse and rhyming poetry. I have little to say about that. It is what it is. I guess what comes "out of the tube" is what's "in the tube." Like toothpaste.

When I wrote for the papers, I knew my readership. I understood what they liked and disliked. When I'm asked to submit an article for a journal, I write to a target audience. I've noticed, according to the stats this blog supplies, I have readers from the UK, Germany, China, Russia, India, Slovenia, Canada, Denmark, Japan and the USA (and that humbles me). I do have one Polish reader...my wife! I don't know if readers just stumble in, and rush to leave as quickly as they can press the ejection switch, or enjoy what time they spend in The Dashboard Poet. I wish I knew what effect my work may have. Whatever the case, writing helps me express my spirit. Everybody needs an outlet; a release. This is mine. If you've read this far...Thank You! I truly hope you'll come back. There's always an empty rocker on my front porch, with your name on it. If you'll do me the favor of leaving a comment on what either pleases you, or displeases you, that'd be great. But if you don't, that's okay too. The rocker's still yours. I'm glad you're here.

~~ James