Dr. Elliott Perlin was born December 9, 1935. He is a hematologist/oncologist who now practices part time at George Washington University Medical Center in Washington, DC. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1958 until retiring his assignment as Chief of Hematology/Oncology at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, MD in 1981. He then accepted a similar position at Howard University Medical School and Hospital, retiring in 2000. His interest in writing poetry began as a young man, but flourished after caring for many patients with such serious illnesses as cancer, sickle cell disease, and Alzheimer’s disease. He resides with his wife Carole Price Perlin in Bethesda, MD. They have four children, eleven grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.