This collection of poems brings together the presiding influences of the poet's life, early and late. He casts an affectionate eye on the Hawkesbury fishermen who stitched their lives into my days, childhood escapades, lost literary comrades, the light and tides of the river, and the ambiance of his youth. Throughout, he is characteristically attuned to the natural world, sketching encounters both intimate and strange. These are poems of clear-eyed vision and mastery, borne of long experience, alert and at ease.