Mark Barton Stringer has earned an advanced degree from a respected American university, but feels that this qualifies him best to understand that he does not know. Life is the rea...ver maisMark Barton Stringer has earned an advanced degree from a respected American university, but feels that this qualifies him best to understand that he does not know. Life is the real school, and the quality of our relationships with other people, and other living beings, the real teacher. He feels that the role of poetry is to ask better questions, not to impose answers on anyone else. In his journey through life, Mark has kept a journal of poetry, and created some art. He feels it is important to share what he is learning, and to create art that is not confined to a museum wall, or long lost in a dusty closet. He offers this collection of poetry and short essays with elements of social protest, the sacred and the profane, and ideally, a vision of the sublime beauty of being alive in nature. He invites others to share the journey, and to contemplate the Mystery.ver menos