Exile (Duncan Forbes)

The forest Was what she missed most From Czechoslovakia In the same way as we, She supposed Would long for the sea,

But an island race We already recall Our maritime past Of steam and sail As if the sea air Were as pure a memorial

As the land-locked Hansel and Gretel Pine forest smell. Though inland in England Woods swish in the wind Like breakers on shingle,

And I, a Sassenach With Gaelic names, Surmise before me An island's ancestry Forest and sea, At the source of the Thames