When my first book of poetry, "Driving Toward the Moon," was published in 2005 I had no thoughts of a second volume. For the first book, I had the luxury of selecting what I considered my best poems from a bounty of material written over the past 25 years. Then nearing my 70th birthday, it seemed unlikely that I would have another 25 years of writing ahead of me. Yet three years later, I had enough poems which I felt were worthy of a second book, "The Earth Behind My Thumb," published in 2008. "Here I am, back again. This time, the road had more obstacles and distractions along the way, but I hope the resulting small collection will succeed in evoking the pleasures and pains of common memories." Barbara Berkenfield grew up amid the noise and soot of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania during its heyday as a city of belching steel mills and clanging street cars .Elected to Phi Beta Kappa at Wellesley College, she graduated Summa Cum Laude with a BA in History of Art. In New York City, she found...