Hazes is by far the most important series for me. It was a literal chronicle of my life at its most tortured. I started Hazes at 20 years old and wrote the majority of the 29 poems during the ensuing 5 years. A few were added in my early thirties when life was changing. At that point, the poems lean towards the past in a reflective way. They can be narrative or statement style with stories of the “Forgotten man” which is of course an alter ego of myself. Those years were very tough with the death of my mother, a horrific divorce, and a major leg injury that took seven operations and a lot of pain. My music for solo piano from that time (three albums) is mostly based on these 29 poems. The names were used in the titles of the music. I called the piano solos ” Tone Poems”. Somber for sure, with overtones of hope, these poems are among my personal favorites to share with people.