From the start, Andrew Taylor's poetry has been involved in both the domestic and the wider world of travel - physical, emotional and spiritual. The poems in this new collection, whether set in an Australian garden, or on the beach, or in Europe or North America, continue that exploration. They journey from a playful inventory of small personal accessories to probings of the nature of God, the atrocity of war, and the degradation of the natural world. Yet as the title poem with its Wagnerian overtones suggests, there is no real dividing line between the biggest dramas and the personal.This is Taylor's tenth book of poetry, continuing his reputation as one of Australia's most independent and accomplished poets.