Reflections of a sinister world caste unto page by lurid hands; fingers lacerating the canvas like razors... Indeed, for as art is expression, this vision chronicles the passing of a young man's struggle with acceptance of the darker sides of the self, and the incontestable passage into adulthood in a world so far away from home. Honest and exposed, these works of will and persistence are a manifestation of experiences within the underbelly of mankind, and a transition into something more. Do not call me a writer. Title me not as a poet. For by these hands, I express through all mediums this world my eyes reflect, and this is my work, not as poetry, or pictures, but expression. As I am an artist, this is my art. Through over a hundred and twenty poems, and twenty original illustrations, one tastes these hardships and is challenged not only to accept the dark side of the self, but to face it and inevitably overcome it; to grow into something far greater and better understand the truth within.