This poetic diary deals with the rebuilding of the island of Montserrat after its near destruction by a volcanic eruption in 1997. The poems express confidence that island life and folk will endure the volcano's tantrums. Expressed are the feelings about the people who have gone, the landscape that has been transformed, and the society that has been fragmented. The seemingly trivial, the myriad social interactions, the sounds, and the smells of a vanished world are evoked. Conversational, muscular rhythms and serious word play characterize this mature and distinctive collection.