Randal A. Burd, Jr. is an educator who works with the disadvantaged in rural Missouri. He holds a master’s degree in English Curriculum & Instruction from the University of Missouri. Randal is currently the Editor-in-Chief of Sparks of Calliope magazine. He has been published by a variety of publications recently, including: The Amethyst Review, Ancient Paths Online, The Ekphrastic Review, Halftime Magazine, The Hypertexts, Nine Muses Poetry, Poetry Breakfast, Rue Scribe, Verse-Virtual, Vita Brevis, Westward Quarterly, The Writer's Cafe Magazine, Your Daily Poem, and others. Randal's collection, Memoirs of a Witness Tree, is forthcoming from Kelsay Books in Summer 2020.