Well, that's all folks. Sixteen years worth of inspiration, tears
and experiences written down in a nice, neat little package. My
only wish is that somewhere along the way you found something
that touched your soul.
I strongly suspect that there is no different reality. Just different
perceptions of the same reality. But, as I put it (with a borrowed
line from Pink Floyd) in one of the poems: "All you touch
and all you see is all your life will ever be. If that's true
then the reality you perceive is unique to you and you alone.
In that case I've made my point. We're all just a product of our
experiences and we all have the power within us to change our
perception and therefore alter our experiences.
It's a strange and wonderful world we live in and we have the
ability to make the world or at least our lives what we want them
to be. In the end, our happiness or sorrow is all up to us. We
believe and feel only what we want to believe and feel. And you
know, there's nothing wrong with that.
And maybe by reading and trying to understand someone else's feelings
we can better understand our own. For if you can't know your own
inner self there's no point in knowing someone else. Sounds easy
but probably the hardest thing in life is to see yourself and
your life through your own eyes. Sometimes it helps to see things
through others and what I've tried to do here is offer you a different
perspective in which to view the world we live in and your part
in it.
There are many people I would like to thank for many different
reasons for making all of this possible and on the next page you
will find that tribute.
A. W. G.
My parents, for making me what I am and for always being there
when I needed you.
My brothers. Rick, for giving me a hero and for the respect you
gave to me. And Steve, for being there, if only for a while, and
for being a true friend and brother during the short time we spent
together. God keep you.
Aunt Bonnie, for showing me the power of words and knowledge.
Dennis Barnett, for being a blood brother and the best friend
I've ever known. God rest your soul.
My ex-father-in-law, Levon Parker, for giving me the confidence that
what I was doing was important and worthwhile.
All my friends and acquaintances who ever read anything I wrote
and liked it.
Without all of you "A DIFFERENT REALITY" would still
just be hundreds of handwritten pages stuffed in drawers and cabinets
and most of it would not even exist at all. You made it all possible
and you made it all worthwhile.
And to give credit where credit is due I would also like to thank
a few other people who I've never met but who provided inspiration
for some that I've written. A lifelong love of music provided
me with many ideas for the rhythm of much of my poetry. I'll be
the first one to admit that some of the lines and titles are borrowed
but the emotions and overall context of every poem are original.
Nevertheless I would like to thank the following musicians and
musical groups for their contribution along the way ...
Pink Floyd, Tom Petty, Styx, Joan Baez, Joe Walsh, JohnLennon,
Dan Fogelberg,
REO Speedwagon, Nazareth, Pat Travers, Supertramp, Bad Company,
The Who, Simon and Garfunkel, Willie Nelson, Loverboy, Moody Blues,
and Jefferson Starship.