On the Boats is a sequence of poems that moves between memory, loss, humour, love and survival with honesty, wit and startling emotional clarity. Set against landscapes of rivers, coastlines, families and shifting relationships, Cherry Coombe's poetry captures the fragile moments that shape ordinary lives and the quiet tensions that often remain unspoken.
By turns lyrical, sharp, funny and deeply humane, these poems explore ageing, motherhood, friendship, longing and the strange persistence of memory. Everyday encounters sit beside darker reflections on grief, vulnerability and resilience, creating a collection that is both intimate and unsentimental.
Written with a distinctive voice that balances tenderness with bite, On the Boats is a poetry collection about the stories people carry with them - and the emotional currents that continue long after the journey seems over.
