What does it mean to be alive? An aptly titled compilation, many of To Be Alive's poems suggest that it isn't always an easy journey. Nor a clear one, or one to be taken lightly. The poetry within To Be Alive encourages one to expand, as well as draw upon, his or her knowledge to help cope with difficulties in life. One of the poems is intensely personal, coming from the direct experience of the poet. The others are reflections of the explorations and observations that he has made. However, the intent of this poetry is not to instruct or tell a story, but to help one access the wisdom and inspiration he or she already has inside. Here is an excerpted poem from To Be Alive: The Melody of the River The melody of the river, the melody of the river./What does it entail?/It entails peace, calm, constancy, depth./It also can entail, /at other times, /rage, tumult, randomness, superficiality./The river flows along, no matter whether it is/peaceful, calm, constant, deep;/or raging, tumultuous, random, superficial;/or somewhere right in between./The melody of the river/is just like life.