On one page in this collection of his early verses, Eckley Macklin describes what every other page so gracefully achieves: "Oh, poet, do not spread before me the table of despair. Bring me the cup of love. Set before me the platter of beauty. Kindle for me one tiny spark of light, that having sipped one drop, tasted one morsel, discovered one path unseen before, I may with new life continue on my journey one more day. And I will take a little of you with me to share with another weary traveller whom I may meet along the way. And who knows with whom he may later share? Then, poet, you will have performed your duty well, and one more soul will give you thanks."