Mindgarden Volume I is a reflection of life’s ultimate journeys: some loving, some tragic, others breathtakingly prophetic. Poet Paul Galloway illustrates how the fragile human spirit can follow the wrong path in spite of the warnings. Yet, with inner strength and hope, fortitude beats adversity, and this collection is a testament to that victory.

Galloway does not shy away from acknowledging his failings as a young man in this first volume of poetry. The troubled soul of the poet writes early in this collection, "Sorrows and sins complete your deedless days." However, Galloway gains wisdom and comes to understand "how the mind gardens itself upon us." The poet’s path to enlightenment embodies both free verse and rhyme, delving into raw emotions and, in turn, making life’s journey worth traveling.

Galloway guides you along the road through valleys and mountains, but eventually arrives at a comfortable place where he writes, "rest newcomers, the old has failed." Throughout Mindgarden Volume I, the poet holds a mirror to himself while quietly, albeit lyrically, ushering you with each turning page to forgiveness and love.

Read excerpts below

Mindgarden

 From the moment you become
your mind is part of the garden
from the moment you can feel
you see what's to be or pardoned

 Your outward senses
your inward thoughts
feeling what is right
yet doing what you naught

 Realism of today
the hate, the greed, the hunger
tears of sadness flow
seeing the evil of the whoremonger

 You grasp for the sky
praying to reach your star
the weight of your inner desires
remind you of who you are

 You struggle, you fight
finally reaching the path
leaving behind you the aftermath

 You stand alone and pray
behind you destruction and dismay

 Finally awakened away from sin
welcome to the enchantment of the Mindgarden

Dream Upon The Clouds

Dream upon the clouds
a million miles high
like the dream of forever
in the heavens where they lie

 dreams of love
fantasy so real
dreams of together
where you touch and you feel

 float within these clouds
once in a lifetime they come
float within its magic
catch them before they run

 see the majestic colors
vividly they stand
dream upon the clouds …
… of never ever land