Bruce Meyer weaves between worlds real and imaginary to unearth the unsettling: our jaded and joyful relationships to past and place, trauma and joy, self and the other, and anticipation of a plentiful future - one that is shaped through the power of love, self-determination, and empathy for others and ourselves. These are poems that move symphonically, tracing the path of a life spent seeking to discover and define our shared humanity. Meyer, who died twice during life-saving surgery, expresses a vision of the possible in the face of impossibilities and finalities. This collection asks: what do we actually mean when we say we love ourselves and others? And how do we pursue or create futures that honour our truths, histories, and legacies? If the world is a shadow, an echo, or the sum of all the past, then to know life is a matter of following its traces.