Water is contained in these poems in many different ways: from the water filling a second-hand cooler in an old farmhouse to ocean riptides and impassive dams; from swimming lessons to paddocks layered with water after rain. From scheme water, pipelines and a countryside in the grip of drought - the water in this collection is a many-sided metaphor. Tracy Ryan's latest collection of poems is full of intimate intensity and clear vision, each poem wrought with consummate skill by "e;one of Australia's most gifted poets"e; (Marion May Campbell).