wild & verdant - Sarah Baker

Dear Reader,

           When I moved to D.C., I felt that my inspiration withered away amidst the concrete and brick. Compared to my previous home out West, this felt stifling.

           I challenged myself to look for nature around me, and the inspiration flowed back. I found that the nature that I once thought was gone, is really there all along.

           As this book morphed, it became a book with concrete themes and titles for each poem, indicating where my inspiration came from. But that felt too constrained.

           I rewrote the book to reflect a message to my reader, to the one who feels like they're behind, who feels like they're not where they want to be yet.

           I have dreams for my career, dreams for my writing, dreams for my ultimate destination. I'm not there yet. If you're not there yet either, this book is for you.

           Even though we aren't there yet, we're not behind. We're just a little bit of wild growing around the human constructions either we created for ourselves or that we let others create for us. When we grow wild, we grow verdant and relish in the beauty that we create.

           Here's to the wild and verdant. To the places we hope to go and to the places we are now. To the growth we make each day because we are not behind. We are right where we need to be.

           Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoy!

           -sb

you were never behind

your dreams haven't withered away

you are wild and verdant climbing

the concrete and brick

that threatened to keep you contained

spreading ever outward and upward

inspiring others to do the same