Matthew J. Spireng, 71, lives in rural upstate New York on the wooded acreage left of the family farm, where he first developed a love of nature as a child. He is a widely published, award-winning poet. His full-length books are What Focus Is, published in 2011 by WordTech Communications, and Out of Body, which won the 2004 Bluestem Poetry Award. He is an eight-time Pushcart Prize nominee. (Photo: Steve Antonelli)