I am an engineer by training and trade but in reality, an artist at heart. In January 1996, I decided to capture my annual year-end reflection in verse, which was to become my first ever poem. My first poem quite naturally led to the second poem, as this new adventure begin to capture my heart. The total eventually exceeded 300 during the seven-year period 1996-2003. Gold, Hay, and Stubble contains 104 of my personal favorites, which are time sequenced as a poetic diary. A helpful feature of the book, which makes it suitable for study by students, is the precise dating of each poem and the identification of verse form. Hopefully the dating will allow a student to sense some sort of skill progression as time goes forward. Dating also allows the general reader to sense both the overall and seasonal drift in my poetic thought. Brief commentaries or dedications are also provided for selected poems. Another feature that may seem a little unusual is the random insertion (space permitting) of untitled, undated Haiku and Tanka throughout the book. I am continually fascinated by these minimalist Japanese verse forms and view them as appropriate "seasoning" for the book''s main poetic course. Again, both are randomly scattered throughout the book which means that they can appear anywhere and sometimes seemingly out of place-just like the dropping in of unforeseen events in our otherwise well-planned and well-scheduled lives. Finally, my hopes are that you will enjoy this verbal offering. May your thoughts be challenged in new and instructive ways as you read and reflect on the contents herein!