The Sea and the Forest

Sally Baker

£5

ISBN 978-1-906613-11-2

Sally Baker was born in Suffolk and now lives in West Yorkshire. She teaches poetry for the WEA and works as a gardener for the NHS. She was selected for the Jerwood Aldeburgh Seminar in 2007 and recently received an Arts Council award.

‘The poems of The Sea and the Forest are an enticing mix of documentary and fairytale. Understated yet rich, Sally Baker’s poems resonate with the details that make up ordinary lives, skilfully capturing the magic and longing behind everyday acts.’ — Polly Clark

HOUSE

That house made of winter sky
with a sloped lawn at the back,
windows rattling like rigging.

A full moon, high tide, north-easterly wind.
Rabbits hung in the green shed,
a bag of turnips and sprouts on the doorstep.

Surely whoever was meant to come
would come soon, out of the sea or forest,
dragging himself to me.

— Sally Baker, from The Sea and the Forest