Walter's poetry began as an off-shoot of one his earlier short stories called Nevermore, Forevermore, a tale about a master poet who uses his skills (mystically augmented, of course) to gain incredible influence over people. See "Bequeathal" below. While the story never evolved quite the way Walter envisioned, his respect for poetry began in earnest at that point. Needless to say, elements of the fantastic show themselves in a great many of his poems.