COMMENTS: If one thinks of poetry as reflections of our immortal soul, or at least, ripples in the waters of our deep unconscious, one may further intimate that these same ripples indicate something of the undercurrent of desires, impulses, and hidden idiosyncrasies of our personality that cry out for us to recall, spell out, or decipher. It follows then that we must view some of these self-made ripples in order to identify the underlying pressures of our own unknown. We may become better acquainted with our inner self to the degree that our mental health will also be improved; for, who among us can profess to know self to certainty? Additionally, Mr. Russell worked for Mendocino County Mental Health from 1986 to 1996 as a quality assurance utilization review coordinator. This job brought him into direct contact with how the mental health system functions; and in particular, delving into the depth of client record keeping, a process that often revealed shortcomings in patient care, reporting, and compliance in treatment planning. Shortcomings in paperwork often equated into shortcomings of money received. His poetry, and often his teaching style, may relate his opinion regarding the dysfunction in the mental health field, and the frustration of one who has tried to make a difference. Today, in these sad times, it seems that mental health is still falling down, especially in Mendocino County.