Kintsugi is a collection of more than 100 of my original poems covering topics from mathematics to philosophy, travel to religion, gun control to COVID, music to history. There are poems about physics and my views on current events. There is even a poem about the origins of WD-40, the spray lubricant. The title poem is based on the Japanese art form of mending broken pottery with gold lacquer as shown on the book’s cover. The finished Kintsugi is more beautiful and valuable as a whole than the original pot. To me, this suggests that we should each try to mend our part of the broken world as a bit of golden lacquer. Besides the poems, Kintsugi contains many illustrations. The poems in this book came to me as gifts, and I am passing them on to you as my gift. As I’ve said in my previous two books, I find it almost impossible to just sit down and write a poem or a song – and I greatly admire those who have this talent. My poems seem to grow organically and just appear when they are ready and I am receptive.

I first started to write poetry while in college, in addition to obtaining graduate degrees in Physics and Computer Science. Attending school in the late 60’s, I naturally became a self-taught folk singer – a hobby that I pursue avidly to this day. My career involved designing radar and communications systems for air-traffic control – combining my scientific bent with my life-long fascination with aviation.

Finally, I’d like to thank all those who provided the inspiration for these poems. They appeared almost fully formed in my consciousness – I had only to write them down before they could vanish into the void where beauty is born. I have done some editing and smoothing of the rough edges, wrapping these gifts in shiny paper and tying them with a silken bow. I hope that you enjoy them.