Although he is more widely known for his many books, articles and recordings in the areas of blues, jazz, and the musical culture of the African diaspora, Samuel Charters has also had an extended career as a poet. This anthology is a selection from his lifetime, hymning nature, family, friendship, travel and the stuff of life. It also includes two extended poems, "In Lagos" and "Of Those Who Died," which fellow poet Gerard Locklin described as, "a beautiful, intelligent, mature poem W. C. Williams would have been proud to have written, with its music, hypnotism, and pellucid clarity... a masterpiece."