In All the Hills, Brian Glaser's poems explore pressing political and spiritual questions related to immigration, asylum, separation of parents and children, displacement of Native Americans, protests, religion, ethics, and moral beauty. Answers may be found through an understanding of the natural world presented by, among others, the mallard duck, pigeon, snowy plover, mudflat, and saltgrass, which says: "The secret to surviving the inrush / of salt from the ocean / is to let it pass right through you."