Edmond Jayasinghes poems are literally snapshots of his life : what he has seen, heard, felt, been exuberant about, had despaired over and what he hopes for. This is not the poetry of a cultural creature well-versed in the language of literary adventures and post-structuralist jargon. Instead, this is the language and words of a retired and experienced Foreign Service Officer opting to share his ideas, thoughts, and experiences through poetic form. Jayasinghe is a living example of what Robert Graves meant when he noted in 1946, “to be a poet is a condition, not a profession.”