FROM

Charles McKendree Robertson has experienced a remarkably eventful life, filled with riveting events on the continent of Africa during his, and his three siblings, formative years as the dependents of an adventuresome American couple who ventured first to the 'Heart of Africa' as missionaries to what was then the Belgian Congo (where the poet/author was born), and subsequently to Togo, West Africa, and Nairobi, Kenya, as a U.S. State Department officer (the poet’s father) and an American Embassy employee (his mother). With a year spent in Bruxelles, Belgium, and excursions to countries throughout Europe for his father’s R&R, 'Rest and Recuperation,' Charles was exposed to a wide and varied collection of people, places, cultures, religions, galleries, castles, and museums, all of which influenced the poet/author’s developing artistic side, as well as contributing to his ever evolving outlook on life.Returning to South Carolina for his junior and senior high school years, Charles penned his first poems, and also wrote a short story titled, 'Farewell to Dixie.' Upon graduation, Charles first attended the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, then transferred to the University of Maryland, College Park. He majored in Criminal Justice and minored in English Literature. Leaving college life early, Charles relocated to Miami, Florida, where he obtained a real estate license, and established an African art import business. Selling this enterprise after several years, he embarked on a tour of the United States, in search of a connection with his American heritage that he had never felt fully connected with following the 'Africa years.'Eventually settling in San Diego, California, Charles became a licensed Private Investigator. He married, and had four children. Selling his firm, Charles relocated the family to Orange County, Southern California, which he has made his home ever since. He now resides in Mission Viejo, California, in close proximity to both his adult, married children, and his four beautiful grandchildren. Throughout his years in California, Charles has engaged his primary passion, that of creative writing. This includes a prodigious number of poems, and a number of short stories. He has also completed a novel length manuscript that tells of a private eye who, against all odds, solves the complex case of a kidnapped, homeless woman, titled 'Airplanes and Ivy,' and is at work on two additional manuscripts, 'Dyin’ Ain’t No Lie,' and 'Pumping Gas.' These three novels are anticipated to be completed and published in 2025.This book, 'From,' is a selected compilation of Charles’s poems. It also includes one short story, 'Butterfly,' that speaks to the most important values in life, specifically family bonds and unity, with self-serving materialism being a fatal influence on family, and societal, health. Charles enjoys a health conscious, inquisitive life, with optimism and an acute, ever-expanding awareness of the political, societal, and environmental/climate issues that confront and challenge humanity’s short and long-term survival odds. It is with these influences in mind that