Alain @carmalain7, it's good to hear from you, again! Thank you, for your generous attentions, and congratulations on your win—the dizzy heights of your intricate entry sets the bar high :)

You're right to start with laughter, I hope to end with it, too, off the page... I can't tell you, my friend, how sick to the back teeth I am of darkness and all that is complicated and morbid, especially in myself. That is why I only permit it to exist, on the page, so long as it is mercilessly mocked. Maybe it's age/stage of life, but I now aspire to simplicity, light-heartedness and a kind of recovered innocence. This is wisdom as I have come to understand it, in life/literature.

Ideally, if it were entirely up to me, I'd only write praise poetry, nowadays, or verse that echoes the Silence from which it came. Less words and noise and confusion, if possible...

As for poetry, frankly, I don't consider myself an 'advanced' poet, only a poet, mysteriously, when I'm writing one (which has never been daily). After that, I'm too bewildered and superstitious to speak of anything like creative process. Best of luck with your work and thank you, for indulging me.