Shadows rise from cracks in the ancient clay that underlies civilization in every era. In the best of times, we see this rising darkness only in the ancient tales and in our dreams. As times grow worse, for one person or for everyone, the world becomes black and threatening. Already an era of wars and rumours of wars, ours has been infected with a pandemic that to many seems unstoppable. The shadows walk among us. Bob MacKenzie’s poems are field recordings of souls lost in this bleak landscape. The poet is an observer walking alongside his subjects as they seek light to dispel the shadows. Though stories in this collection may seem dark and unrelenting, MacKenzie always lets his reader know that after the shadows comes light.