Rich Bergeron has a multiracial family and a deep sense of social justice, not only about race in America, but also caring for all our people, entering into just wars, and simply doing the right thing. He gave up a good career in the U.S. Navy because of the Vietnam War, yet sympathizes with the people who served in 'Nam. His poetry reflects all this. Originally published in 1984, his poetry often lays his soul bare for all to see. As Louis Alemayehu says in his forward: "Here he is toward the end of a very violent century, publishing a book of poetry in red, white, black, yellow, brown, blue...

Lt. Eric Matthews must help close down a drug ring big enough to make the Mafia gag, a gang that is not just selling heroin, but cutting the drug with poison and killing someone weekly. For the first time in his career he must serve undercover as an enlisted man-his advancement in rank requires such experience. He is assigned to the USS Hestek (nicknamed the "Old Haystack") to track a suspected drug user back to his supplier and then arrest him, even though the two become good friends. He has help from a team of other operatives, led by his team leader Captain Rena Skye, USMC. Needle on the...