Book excerpt: Love can be delightful, befuddling, disenchanting, its mists and fog clouding your sight. It can turn you inside out, leave you asking yourself "what if?" Through the lens of love and the joy of creating, Maria Hamilton explores the world around her in a unique anthology merging culture and language with poems in English, French, and Jamaican dialect. In her new book, Poetic Soul: Moving Gracefully to a Fresh Beat she examines the burning desires of the heart, the challenges of life, and the splendour of nature through reflection, poetry, and prayer. Marvel at nature's wrath. Celebrate life's successes. Feel the poignancy of a love poem in a bottle. Join the poet on her voyage through the intellect and imagination. Everything starts in the mind. Everything begins with a thought. Soon the human spirit is awakened, and life becomes inspired.