A first-person poetic memoir traces a long life from childhood into advanced age, following the speaker through apprenticeship, various manual trades, migration and settlement, home‑building, and the daily labor that sustains family life. Episodes of technological change, economic hardship, fire, illness, and bereavement punctuate the narrative while concrete details of workshops, mills, and tools underscore a craftsman’s practical perspective. The wider collection mixes tones and forms, offering satirical and reflective pieces, domestic and seasonal verses, and occasional topical poems including an argument in favor of woman's suffrage.