These poems are a collection of personal thoughts and experiences that I have put into four sections. After finishing high-school, I fell in love with poetry and after visiting the beautiful country of Japan, I fell even more deeply in love with the art form of literature. Due to this love for the Far East, I have included a Haiku about each section after the titular pages of each section. These poems represent different phases of my life, ranging from dark times, to brighter times and everything in between.

Section one is titled The Seven Deadly Sins and seeks to shed light on some of the experiences that I have had with religion and certain struggles that I faced. I am by no means denouncing, nor praising any religion or religious practices, I am merely stating some contemplative thoughts that I have had surrounding religion. This chapter focuses on the traditional 'Seven Deadly Sins'.

Section two is titled Sorrows of the Soul and looks at a variety of difficulties that one might face throughout life such as depression, anxiety and death. This section highlights a struggle that I, along with countless others in the world, have faced; that being mental illness. This chapter seeks to explore the intricacies of mental illness, and hopefully shed some light on various experiences of mental illness.

Section three is titled Endearment of the Heart and showcases the positive experiences that can be enjoyed if we allow ourselves to be happy. Such a simplistic view of maturation and growth is not easy to put into words nor understand, however, for my personal journey it was all about 'letting go' and allowing myself to become a happier person and the person that I wanted to be. This chapter seeks to explore some of the happier experiences that I have enjoyed and some of the experiences that I am looking forward to enjoying in the future.

Finally, Section four is titled The Meaning of it All and highlights a recently renewed interest in my Greek lineage on my mothers side. This section highlights the concepts put forth by the Founding Fathers of Greek Philosophy (and arguably all Western Philosophy), Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. After this brief introduction, I discuss the main 'branches' of philosophy. I am by no means a philosopher myself, merely pondering on some of the concepts brought forward by the great minds of our history.

I hope that you enjoy reading this small collection and that they may give you something to ponder.

Yours sincerely,

Mitchell Buchtmann.