i
dear ones / here we walk through seaside towns / past harbours with still, salted boats / over green-topped sandstone cliffs / hewn from solid gold / we run & ride bikes on the beach / swim in our wide, open seas / our children get to play on sand / some go to forest schools / we search for frogspawn in our ponds / find mushrooms, apples growing wild / watch birds / see clover, lindens, maples, pines / here is a place to think & breathe

there’s heath & sky & smiles & bees / white waterfalls that lead to sea / & hidden magic coves / horses with grey hooves & multicoloured tails / lamp-black rivers overhung with trees / a land of barrows / chalk-figures carved into the hills / castles & story rising from the earth / here is a land of poetry / where the past spills into now / bones of our land / jutting through its skin

we remember days of wildness here / bone-white sand dunes / like a maze with tufted grass / we’d wind our way down through / pulled towards the sea / get lost then find our way again / days of children catching ferries / or buses on their own / camping underneath the stars / long days sent from heaven / days when everything was free / we hope it’s here for generations to come / we hope it can stay wild / help us not forget / dear ones / what this land is meant to be / we love the bones of this place / wish you were here / with love

ii
dear ones / our seas are filling up with plastic / we’re dumping toxic waste / into our fresh water / sewage rises when it rains / our land & coast erodes each day / like ancient bones that turn to dust / seas are forever rising / glass-bright summer days are heating / it’s a disappearing, littered landscape / there are too many people / too many dogs / tourists visit all year round / walk up neat gravelled paths / eat fish & chips & drink from cans or plastic cups / pick up their neon towels & leave / forget to take their waste / we wonder if they’ve forgotten / what nature means to us / our ancient land is not an item / to be ticked off from a list

too many people blowing in / & settling like autumn leaves / buying up our homes / gift-wrapping histories / turning everything we have here / into photos for the ’gram / stamped all over by the corporate machine / no space to move / to drive or park / no space to think or breathe / buses few & far between / there’s hidden poverty / we need to be reminded / that we need this land / far more than it needs us / when people love a place’s bones, we’ll care / it remains beautiful as ever, dear ones / but we need to stay alert / perhaps you’d better stay there / sending love

iii
dear ones / our seas rose up & flooded us / ravaged cliffs which stood majestic as they fell / our seas are roiling beasts now / a million kettles on the boil / plastic snakes through tainted water like seaweed / tendrils wrap around the gills of dying fish / clutched at our ankles / when we used to try to swim / plastic bottles bob like apples / unpaired trainers run nowhere / this stuff’s forever floating & existing / never sinking to the sea bed / our water’s black with sewage & pollution from the labs / unmentionables float past / like fleets of tiny boats / when it rains the stench will rise & fall along the shore / you can smell it from the town / there’s nothing left / yet visitors still come & sit amongst the debris / try to catch last rays / of the dying sun

our land is littered here / with neon-coloured plastic / like bright flowers sprouting from the earth / everything is overgrown / a tangled bird’s nest, never green / / we can’t breathe salt air / or see the sky / we rarely hear the sound of birds / apart from cries of hungry gulls / yet cars still clog our roads like silt / wildfires break out every day / heaths & forests burn / the air’s thick with a yellow, smoky smog / there are insects we don’t recognise / giant-winged & whirring / we wonder if they might be drones

the bees & butterflies are gone / the greenbelt is a cotton thread / we only eat what labs grow / & we fight each other for / it’s nearly always dark here / & although it’s hot & wet / we never know the season / we have forgotten snow / packs of dogs run wild / the rich live in glass domes inland / we live in abandoned farms / with rusted tractors / & the ghosts of lowing cows / or sleep in tents or broken cars / bones of our land are breaking / under all this weight / dear ones / we’re glad you’re not here / there are no stars / please help us / sending love

iv
dear ones / here we move through seaside towns / where water’s clean & teems with life / our children splash in freshwater / or swim with turtles / in a teal-blue crystal sea / sunsets dip & kiss the beach / a pale moon rises in the sky / watched over by gold cliffs / wildflowers carpet the earth / the air’s filled with the sound of birds & the hum of honey bees / plants thrive in rich soil / we’ve resurrected ghost ponds / watched nature bloom / buses glide across the land / like shoals of gleaming silver fish / we cycle on mycelium paths / connected like the wood-wide web / there’s space for a few cars / which shine like beetles’ wings / here everything is free / we welcome tourists with the sun / together we have learned / to tread the land more lightly

we planted meadows, hedges, trees / we breathe scents of damp earth after rain / & air salted by the sea / here the world’s less dangerous / peace settled on the globe / we roam over a land / with some parts wild / others buzzing with activity / where, like the ones before us did / we grow abundant, healing food / there are mixed crops in the fields / orchards full of ripening fruit / it’s bright & happy here / where the human world’s entangled / with the more-than-human one / there are foxes, friendly bears! / the air’s filled with blue butterflies / wild horses graze amongst the trees / & the corporate machine / is a long-forgotten, rusted ghost

we spread out tablecloths for picnics / or eat great plates of food / from cafes run by families / the land is litter-free / there are spaces to create & learn / to gather round a fire / while amber flames lick at the sky / tell stories as we’ve always done / of us & land, the ones before / we’re humanising history / there’s art & sculpture / libraries outdoors / we are the land & all its gifts / we are community & one / we camp under navy skies / patterned with bright stars / here’s a place where anyone & anything can be / in harmony / dear ones! / we found the old, wild selves / we yearned for / here, in this land of poetry / where we’ve gifted nature rights / we protect her fiercely / bones of our land are fusing together / wish you were here / with all our love