In Shades, R. Mark Beal gathers moments of stillness, sorrow, faith, memory, and human longing into a deeply reflective collection of poetry. These poems move through quiet mornings, darkened paths, forgotten streets, childhood memories, aging, love, fear, regret, and the fragile hope that survives even in life's heaviest shadows. With a voice that is honest, observant, and often haunting, Beal writes about the beauty and pain hidden in ordinary places: a lamplit road, a wooden swing, a child in a wheelchair, an old man in the rain, a mirror, a storm, a cross, and a thread held in the Hand of God. Each poem invites the reader to pause, feel, remember, and look more closely at the world within and around them. Shades is a collection for readers who appreciate poetry that speaks plainly yet deeply, carrying both darkness and light, both brokenness and grace.