From memories of a childhood in Guyana through an elegiac exploration of the shootings at Virginia Tech University in 2006, this poetry collection journeys from youth to maturing and from continent to continent. Celebrating individuals and the histories embedded in places, this compilation recollects the smell of bitumen, the local hero who came in last in the National Cycle Championship, and the 33 unique individuals who perished in Virginia. Powerful and intimate, this examination argues that alongside grief there is still delight in the world.