These poems, written over a period of forty years, confirm Anthony Thwaite as one of the most assured, interesting and enjoyable poets of his generation, whose work recognises conflicting forces. There is the need for roots and the desire to get away: there is the urge to speak plainly, and the impulse to speak through other voices. These are the poems of a traveller and explorer - of the contemporary world and of the past - who brings back tales which tell us more each time we read them.