DAVID REGAN was born in East Melbourne in the vicinity of the  early sixties. He still remembers his first school textbook for poetry,  The Worlds Contacted Thus, and the excitement engendered at discov ering the allure of words. At Monash University, more time was spent searching the library  for inspirational writing than attending lectures. The words had  stuck. In the years that followed, family life and work arrived and poetry, while never absent, was somewhat relegated. In 2019, when he exited his working life, he found more space to devote to his creative endeavours (poetry, painting and  photography) and this book began. A major theme in his writing is the human condition and the examination of what it is to lead a meaningful existence. How does the  past affect us? Can we live with our mistakes? We all carry with us our own version of trauma; how can we learn to be in the moment?  Finally, at its core, a certain romanticism emerges. A number of these poems were set in Greece, where David tries  to visit each year. When not in Greece he can be found on Bunurong  land in Naarm, Melbourne or at Shoreham, Victoria. This is his first collection.