Joys and Sorrows, by Oklahoma-born poet Donald Smyth, is the author's first collection of poems, and generous gathering of work from rich and diverse life. These poems show the author at his best, rendering distinctive poetic flourishes and imagination. They may begin in mystery and end in sadness; they may start in irony and end in lyric ascendancy. Whether writing about love and hope or about war and death of loved ones, he reveals a voice that is unique and melodic.