Leslie Norris’s eleventh collection of poetry is marked by his observation of the natural world. Many of the poems are concerned with the cyclical processes of nature migration, the seasons, life and death. They are written with all the sharpness of language, exactness of imagery and vivid painterly description which readers have come to expect in his work. Among these nature poems are others about Norris’s childhood, one tinged with foreboding at the prospect of a Second World War and with regret at the subsequent deaths of many of his friends. These poems, and a meditation at the grave of Dylan Thomas, are marked by a finely articulated compassion and humanity.