Poems of Purpose is a collection of poems dedicated to the author´s belief that metaphor is at the root of all creation—be it physical or non-physical—and that poetry is one of the highest expressions of that impulse to survival. Poems of Purpose is divided into two sections, the fi rst section being dedicated exclusively to documenting the method of metaphor. The last entry in this section—a pastiche of poetry and prose— seeks to explicate and demonstrate the role of metaphor in human life. The second section, entitled “Leafs and Leavings,” is a collection of poems—some recent, and some quite ancient (“In Retrospect,” being an improved version of a poem written in the ninth grade)—but all of them illustrate the work of metaphor in the realm of powerful emotions. Without exception, all of the poems represented in this volume are designed to engage the reader in a depthful involvement in the richness that is the human experience. “Open your heart to feeling and your mind to understanding.”