River and Mountain: Collected Poems Of

By Ignacio Valdes

Ignacio Valdes wrote his first poem in the fifth grade but did not write another until forty-four years later. This collection began as a game between friends, writing poems back and forth to pass the time. Before he knew it, Ignacio had twenty poems, then thirty, eventually amassing eighty. Over five years, the poems grew and developed and became a cohesive picture. The title, River and Mountain, is based on the geography around the beautiful city of Monterrey, Mexico, which is surrounded by mountains with a river running through. Most poems are personal accounts. Some tell stories, while others attempt to touch upon universal ideas. Recurring themes are love, faith, transition, and loss. In Ignacio’s case, poetry has often grown in the midst of solitude and suffering, but even times of trial are opportunities to grow and learn. We can all relate to the strife but also the celebration. His words, both thought provoking and beautiful, require careful attention.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu Publishing Services
• Release date: May 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781483497372

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VALDES

Copyright © 2019 I. Valdes.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means—whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic—without written permission of the author, except in the case of brief excerpts used in critical articles and reviews. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law.

ISBN: 978-1-4834-9738-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4834-9737-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019901445

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Lulu Publishing Services rev. date: 02/04/2019

Introduction

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I wrote my first poem in the fifth grade. I did not write another one for forty-four years. It started with a work colleague and now friend sending me a poem she had written. Something switched on. Within minutes, I had written a poem in return. That started an exchange. Then I sent a poem to another friend, which resulted in a, let’s just say, large emotional response. That scared me at first. I began to think, This is pretty powerful stuff. I kept writing just for me and did not intend to publish. But I resolved to rescue the poems from emails and collect them all, whereupon I found I had more than twenty. So I kept going, and the collection kept growing and growing. This is the result.

In my case, poetry often comes in the midst of solitude and suffering. I wrote many of these poems while seeking government certification of electronic health-record software my team had created. This consisted of weekends full of my going over