This collection of song-like poems has as its overarching theme the mystery-filled relationship between two worlds: the spiritual and the earthly realms invoked by the two key terms in the book's title: gems and bones. It is difficult most of the time to separate these two worlds, and the poems serve to communicate the author's experience of the tensions, the ecstasies, even the humor which unfold with their intertwining. The various dimensions of that experience are reflected in the organization of the "songs" into six sub-thematic chapters: songs from the garden; of death and falling; of griping and wrestling; of vision; of striving; of love and cleaving. While deeply personal, the poems nevertheless struggle towards a mode of expression of the spiritual life on earth appealing to readers of diverse religious backgrounds.
