Her words are personal, intimate and, at times, painful as they evoke family ties and the suffering of her ancestors (and other São Toméans) who were brought against their will to the archipelago from mainland Africa and later sent to other countries as slaves.
The first poem in this book is entitled "Canto Obscuro às Raízes" (Hymn to Obscure Roots), in which the poet inquires about the identity of her last African grandfather.
Conceição Lima embarks on a lyrical journey in search of her roots and compares her ordeal/search to that of the American writer, Alex Haley, who traced his grandfather Kunta Kinte to the town of Juffure from where, in the 18th century, he was taken as a slave.
The first, with the title "O Anel das Folhas" (The Ring of Leaves), is about her happy childhood growing up on her native island of São Tomé, surrounded by its enchanting nature.
The poem ends with this disturbing verse: "Ruanda ainda conta os crânios dos seus filhos" (Rwanda still counts the skulls of her children).