The Garden and The Forest

These two illustrated poems are inspired by the fairy tales 'Beauty and the Beast' and 'Little Red Riding Hood'. In particular the more adult versions of these tales as retold by Angela Carter in stories such as 'The Courtship of Mr Lyon' and 'The Company of Wolves'. Gardens and forests seem to me to represent the extremes of the green world, the tameness of a well-cultivated garden and the wildness of an unruly forest. In my garden I have one small border which I try to keep looking reasonably neat and pretty and also a wild patch at the back, which I struggle to keep in its place. I feel Belle and Scarlet are two sides of the same coin and are doing their best to stay calm and remain true to themselves when faced with the overwhelming desires of an intimidating beast or a ravenous wolf.