Tree Light

From its tentative first word ('perhaps') to the final phrase, realising 'here is no journey / only attending to stones- / like a story told yet again / by an old friend', the reader is immersed in a woodland that is alive with quiet yet profound epiphanies-the way we live and die; the way we might weave narratives that change our stories. In this liminal place, which is both a real woodland and an internal space, we learn that 'What matters is the silence that encircles you...' And we find in that silence a liturgy of the natural world we too often forget we are part of.

Yvonne Baker's poems are both lyrical and spiritual. In Tree Light she takes the reader into the woods near her home. She has so immersed herself in these they have become a presence in her life. She writes about the different trees, creatures which live in the woods, the effects of light and weather, makes the reader feel the touch of moss and lichen. Happenings in her life and her feelings about them are skilfully woven into her work. This debut pamphlet is a considerable achievement.

-Myra Schneider

Yvonne Baker is married with three sons and five grandchildren. She worked for many years as a teacher in primary education, and later as a headteacher and religious education adviser.

She has been published in print and on-line magazines and placed in competitions. Her poems have been included in Second Light, Paper Swans, Emma Press and Poetry Space anthologies.

She belongs to several poetry groups: Chichester Stanza, Taking Your Work Further, Kith Poets and Second Light Network, all of which offer support and friendship.

Her poetry explores the relationship between the outer and inner experience and how this can reveal hidden emotions and feelings.