For forty years, poet Simone L. Hamlescher turned to her notebook—in her spare time, when she was frustrated, when she had no one else. She learned that every poem is a life experience. Growing up and growing old, love and grief, birth and death—a poem can illuminate our inner worlds and everyday lives. That’s what the poems in Herding Cats in the Forbidden Kingdom: A Poetry Collection (1986–2026) do. They reveal life’s twists and turns and the many experiences that shape us. 

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Writing in rhyming couplets, epic poems, haiku, and free verse poems, Hamlescher explores themes of mental health, love, nature, and death. Through ellipses and fragments, these poems allow—and encourage—the mind to wander and seek connection. They ruminate on how lonely and heartbreaking life can be but also how joyful and filled with love. Our lives may change like the seasons, moving from birth to growth to death, but each new stage contains its own splendour and lessons. 

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Thought-provoking and rich with imagery, Herding Cats in the Forbidden Kingdom is more than one poet’s legacy. It’s a lyrical manifesto, reminding us that no matter what season of life we’re in, life is beautiful and full of meaning.