"Originally published in hardcover in Great Britain by Polygon Books, an omprint of Birlinn Limited, Edinburgh, in 2020."--Title page verso

"In these delightful poems, Alexander McCall Smith writes about his travels, from Africa to Greece, London to Dubai, and back home to Scotland. He shares his gentle, inimitably McCall Smith-esque observations on life, love, and beauty, reminding us how deeply satisfying it can be to take in the world around us with all our senses, and with all our mind and heart"--

In a time of distance.

A washing line outside a Croft house -- Taste and memory -- In a time of distance.

Journeys.

Our journeys -- Train arriving at Platform Two -- Adelstrop revisited -- Language of pilots -- College of Hypnotherapy, next right -- Quality provisions for Ever -- Not Rus in Urbe but Suburbia in Rure -- A typology of angels -- Household gods -- Holy river -- Mustard field, Rajasthan -- Feel glorious -- Do not lean again -- Ne pas.

A Scottish four seasons.

Spring -- Summer -- Autumn -- Winter. Interlude: seven sonnets. Sixty talks to Eighteen -- Eighteen replies to Sixty -- Forty intervenes, remembers Horace -- Adventure and uncertainty -- It takes a village to raise a child -- King James VI of Scotland reflects on the loss of his only friend when young -- Love unforgotten.

Of the animals.

Primate cousins -- Gentleness of whales -- Elephants -- Kangaroos -- Dung beetle -- Tortoise -- Cheetah -- Polar bear -- Crocodile -- Lion -- Small, insignificant antelope -- Giraffe, zebra -- Our world, their world.

Of love & longing.

Love over Scotland -- On clouds over Mull: a love song -- Nocturnal blessing -- Love lost -- On looking at a child.

Of books & reading.

Goodness of books -- Book becomes -- Moveable type -- What the book is -- On the bedside table -- Remembering Muriel Spark -- Graham Greene -- A maker of beautiful books -- Library of Congress.

Places.

Greece -- Oracle at Delphi -- Goodbye to the Ionian -- Scotland -- St. Kilda -- Dear one -- Scotland's claim -- Edinburgh -- A fragile beauty -- Seven hills of Edinburgh -- Castle Rock -- Craiglockhart Hill, a century ago -- Arthur's seat and geology -- Imagined conversation on Blackford Hill -- Corstophine Hill -- On Calton Hill -- Braid Hills.

Unrelated poems.

Northland -- Wolves -- Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg -- From a Mumbai Hotel -- Fish, and the thoughts of fish -- Saving an Oak Tree -- Friendship