Mandy Baldwin Biography

One day, when I am very old
This hurt will be forgotten.
I’ll quietly, carefully, walk through the town
Button my coat against the cold
...

When I was a child the garden burst with marigolds.
Pungent tomatoes climbed the walls in the dusty sun
And new cut grass with daisies lying slaughtered
And ponds with drowning fan-tails and proud peonies
...

Naomi walked with me in the winter
Along a beach that was bleak and wide.
Like broken dolls propped up together
I was strong with her at my side.
...

In my mind I’m going home
Down long green lanes by an empty sea
To an old stone house, with lilac trees
And my Prudy-dog, to welcome me.
...

I was sitting by the water
When they told me it was ending
And the estuary birds flew over - crying, always crying, as I did then.
Then I knew that hope was gone
...