Following the troubled course of the last decade, these poems move from the stories of individual lives to the events that have entered our global consciousness. They explore the world of work, from circuses to wedding ring factories to classrooms; and the world of war, from the agonies of Israel/Palestine to the Bosnian war to New York of 9/11. They examine the need for flight and the recovery of ancestral knowledge. While they rage against injustice, they also search for healing. Above all they are songs of the people's struggle. In the words of Luis Francia of the Village Voice, ""Achtenberg is a poet of lyrical intensity...interested in detail for the wealth of revelation and music it will yield up."" Prior to publication, the manuscript won recognition as a finalist in five competitions: the Philip Levine Poetry Contest, the Hayden Carruth Award from Copper Canyon Press, the May Swenson Award from Utah State University Press, Cleveland State University's Poetry Center Prize, and the Alice James Books awards.