Each of the poems in this book addresses a problem that human kindness has failed to resolve sufficiently thereby to enhance people's ability to improve the world as we know it. Collectively, these poems are divided into five categories in the following order: first, destructive activities known personally by the author; second, examples and illustrations of issues that compromise the ability of families to thrive; third, failures in the political realm that undermine social well-being; fourth, critiques of the human propensity for war; fifth, some of the author's experiences reflective of ecological woes in the world. As noted above, by associating each of these concerns with a shortfall of human kindness, the author implies that greater openness to others in our attitudes could improve the world in which we live.
Edmund F. Byrne is a retired philosophy professor who has taken up poetry after years of publishing books and articles in his professional field. For twenty years, he was a section editor for the Journal of Business Ethics and more recently, has reviewed books critical of 'Just War Theory'. At IUPUI, where he taught, he has established a Peace and Global Justice Award.