Richard Greene began writing poetry in the 8th grade, inspired by the opening lines of Longfellow's ?Evangeline”—?This is the forest primeval. The murmuring pines and the hemlocks / Bearded in moss and in garments green, indistinct in the twilight"—which he was required to read in class. In college, after a classmate deemed Richard's rhyming poem ?trite,”  he stopped writing until, several years later, a class with Henry Rago, then editor of Poetry magazine, inspired him to resume his efforts. But poetry fell by the wayside for almost forty years as a busy career in international development consumed his life. As retirement approached, however, Richard?s dedication to poetry returned and he now shares a "poem of the week" with close to 200 readers, has self-published one book, Explorations (Antrim House Books), and is working on another. Learn more about Richard at www.greenepage.net.