This is a collection of 73 poems written by Service between 1914 and 1919. They describe experiences in both England and France as he struggled to become a published writer and then as he experienced life "in the trenches"- the war in Europe. There is a continuing monolog which accompanies the poems: notes on Service's emotions, his interaction with the subject mater of his poems and his reactions to the world around him. This commentary is as important as the poems themselves in understanding the writer and his times. He writes of both life and death; he is compassionate and loving but he is also direct and brutal in his descriptions of people and events.