The Grass Boat by Imogen Forster

 

 This is a beautifully produced book full of poems, many of which show close observation of the natural world. Watching gannets fish the seas around Shetland, is captured beautifully in Cliff at Noss: 

Gannets, saffron smudged,
their tails stiff as whittled wood,
bank on ink dipped wings, hang
as if strung on wires, plunge
in arrow showers.

In this and several other of the poems in this pamphlet, the poet uses arresting images and comparisons, which lends a great freshness to the work.

Not all the poems here deal with the natural world, there are also poems about Forster's childhood, a drummer and one about the packaging of oranges.

This is a lovely book, well worth reading. 

The Grass Boat by Imogen Forster, published by Mariscat Press (2021).