This collection of free-verse poetry travels, along with the author, across her lifetime—from high school through college and graduate school, past marriage, divorce, and the death of a parent, deep into raising children, always finding a new path of understanding and deeply thinking about the inner and external worlds.

There is an element of “exclaiming” in these offertories, an understanding that even imbalance can bring about a new equilibrium in one's life. These poems are declarations of how the author has found truth through observations and language. Starting with the imagery of bridges, the poetry moves through the terrain of mythology, of landscapes, of train rides, of seasons, of loss, of hope, and finally, of understanding how one comes to see one's life as a series of crossings and intersections.

Barbara Simmons is a graduate of Wellesley College, and received an MA in the Writing Seminars from Johns Hopkins, mentored by poet Elliot Coleman. A retired educator, teacher, and counselor, she savors the smaller parts of life and language, exploring words as ways to remember, envision, celebrate, mourn, and understand. Her publications have included Santa Clara Review, Hartskill Review, Boston Accent, NewVerse News, Soul-Lit, 300 Days of Sun, Capsule Stories, Isolation Edition, Capsule Stories, Autumn 2020, and Capsule Stories, Winter 2020, Writing it Real, and the Journal of Expressive Writing.

Simmons grew up in Boston and now resides in California—both coasts inform her poetry.