The lyrical, often elegiac poems in Arrivals & Departures, written over many years and set in locales in both America and abroad, explore the phenomena of arriving and departing physically, metaphysically and spiritually. From the coasts of Maine and California, to the Himalaya of Nepal, to the war-ravaged lands of Afghanistan and Iraq and the lives of military personnel involved in conflicts there, Moss's poems probe the sometimes bittersweet joys of reunion and the pain of leaving and loss. As he writes in one poem, "So what is it all for/in this world sighing with loss/its voice the leading edge of silence ...." Regardless of where they are set, these humane, intimately observed poems celebrate acts of discovery and the richness of language.