Bryan Owen's second collection of powerful, accessible and moving poems takes us from modern Burma to ancient Rome, from the glens and the lochs of Scotland and the troubles of the Middle East to the United States, where progress seems to conquer all. These poems are full of humanity - they touch our hearts and challenge our complacency.

Owen feels life passionately. A poet, he says, gives voice to those things that need to be said. These poems are about taking part...about being engaged...about caring for the world in which we live and about which we fret.

The poems are written for reading aloud. It's in hearing poems spoken that we are moved by the music of the words and the sounds of the silence between them.

With the challenges posed by their rhythms and music maybe these poems will encourage those who read them to engage with their own struggles and challenges in life, but without losing the joy of the dance!

Owen's first book of poetry Blue Daffodils was published in June 2007.