Harvey Mudd's first published poem was written in 1960. The last poem in this book was written in 2016. In the intervening 55 years, he wrote four books of poetry, two of which were published by Black Sparrow Press of Santa Barbara. One was short listed for the Los Angeles Times poetry book of the year. During that period, he was a farmer in Northern New Mexico, the director of an Environmental organization, and a painter. The cover illustration is a painting by Mudd. He traveled extensively, was always active in politics, and raised three children. He has lived in New Mexico, old Mexico, Vermont, New York City, and Massachusetts. When George W. Bush was elected for a second term, he moved to the south of France, where he still lives. 

This volume contains poems selected from the previous four published books, but the majority are poems written between 2009 and the present. He considers these later poems his best work.