The Imagined Gift, is Lester Hirsh's latest published poetry book since the release of Mosaic II, Poems of An Ancient Order, in 1999. With: me and distance, living and loss, hardships of health, artistic struggles to survive in a demanding material world, the poet turns inward, to find sustenance, insight, and the voice of inspiration in the written word; poetry and song.

The Imagined Gift, dedicated to the late poets Donald Hall and Jane Kenyon, both mentors and friends, delves into a backlog of memories sacred to the poet, some that still haunt him. There are undercurrents of sad refrains, as well as a reservoir of acceptance and peace, that letting go his resistance to the process of aging often engenders.

Throughout the mix of poetry and prose, there is an underlying focus on the deep well of existence, and the light of passion sustained in our creative process, the centering force for this poet, his human foibles and vulnerability, that strive to rise above the fray of ordinary mundane lives.

The Imagined Gift in clear and metaphoric language, covers a wide range of Universal Motifs that bring the reader into the fold of his love of language, ideas, and sensibilities, as it evolved over his decades of growth, both personally, and poetically.