What we call "life" is endlessly in flux, instantly shifting from the future to the past with our bodies serving as the medium of this transition. By the time we have moved, sensed, or observed an event, that experience has already entered the past. Moreover, we cannot avoid living in the past because our consciousness-whether waking or dreaming-is comprised solely of memories. And while these memories are mere shadows projected on the walls of our imagination, they are the most substantial proof that we have weathered life's pageant of glory and trauma. In this new collection of poems, I return to some of the encounters and places-at home and abroad-whose impact on me has been long-lasting. This includes translations-real and imagined-of poems from German, Ancient Greek, and Hawaiian that are as much a part of me as my lived experiences.