User:Gwballard/sandbox

Dr. Gary W. Ballard is a lifelong educator, teaching mathematics and serving as a high school principal, past president of the Texas Association of Secondary School Principals, and past director of Trinity Christian Academy. He has served as an adjunct professor of mathematics for Paris Junior College. He is a lifelong resident of Lamar County, Texas. His wife Gwen and the children, Ginger, Grant, and Geramy, have been an important part of the stories recorded in these poems. Dr. Ballard's love of poetry began in high school, when his English teacher asked the class to write a poem. The writing has continued with hundreds of poems "written down somewhere in volumes deep."

Each poem is a gift from God, arriving somewhat arranged in the author's mind before the pen is in hand. Each line is a testimony to the author's understanding of God and his creation. Each memory evoked may be similar to the author's, yet free to satisfy the reader's imagination. Perhaps, not since Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote, "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.", has a poet so lovingly addressed their soul mate in passionate verse. In addition to "Gwen songs", the reader will find poetry about writing, nature, family, tributes, and other meditations.