From the Author’s Desk: Hope, Purpose and Dreaming

Recently, I saw the movie "Charlie St. Cloud" for the first time. One of my favorite parts was when star Zack Efron repeats an E.E. Cummings poem, called “Dive For Dreams,” to co-star  Amanda Crew. 
The poem is about taking chances and trusting your heart, as is the movie’s theme. You really have to see the movie to understand the context of the poem; nonetheless, it has a powerful message. The poem reflects the core of what the critters in my book—and all of us "non critters"—are seeking and needing:  hope, purpose, and dreaming beyond the present.
Here is the poem: 
dive for dreams
or a slogan may topple you
(trees are their roots
and wind is wind)
trust your heart
if the seas catch fire
(and live by love
though the stars walk backward)
honour the past
but welcome the future
(and dance your death
away at this wedding)
never mind a world
with its villains or heroes
(for god likes girls
and tomorrow and the earth)