Simon and Garfunkle’s, “I Am A Rock” affected me deeply as a teenager. It crystallized the feelings of isolation and resentment that flooded through me like a tidal wave. More importantly, though, at least to me, the song, with it’s haunting harmonies and driving rhythm allowed me to verbalize, to act upon the sense of non-belonging that marked that time in my life – by singing along with the radio.

“I’ve built walls,
A fortress deep and mighty,
That none may penetrate."

That verse personified me as a kid. It is actually pains me to look backward on it. Adolescence sucked the joy right out of life for me. Never able to get anything right, I believed for the longest time that there was something wrong with me.

_"I have my books
And my poetry to protect me;
I am shielded in my armor,
Hiding in my room, safe within my womb.
I touch no one and no one touches me."

Only when I was writing did I reach out into the real world. Even then, rejection was my life.

“I Am A Rock – I am An Island. . . "