Retiring after nearly fifty years of working served as the spark for Near Afar. The book celebrates a journey of adventure, romance, and wonder while wrestling with that age old question, "What's next?" Blending the playful with the deeply reflective, Near Afar employs a wide range of poetic forms commensurate with the diversity of experiences it covers. The reader will find ekphrastic, concrete, found, abecedarian, villanelle, and prose poetry among the more familiar lyric styles.