Not sea
Only a fraction of the land mass
is visible see iceberg
Doesn’t necessarily have palm trees
Often has a feeling of inferiority
but very good at hiding this see above
Some disagreement
over whether a single rock
less than a metre across
can be considered see Norwegian coastline
Not necessarily inhabited
If inhabited by humans
rum, whisky & stout
can help maintain society see smuggling
Perhaps we can agree an island
needs to have a beach
not necessarily sandy –
pebbled, volcanic, granite, quartz etc –
are all permissible
Preferably with a bar or café
A strong contender
would have a mighty population
of birds – indeed part or even all
of the island may belong
to this population – this is best respected see cliffs
see guano
Natural harbours do not always exist
You may need to swim or –
if you’re wealthy &/or have
a complete disregard for the environment –
arrive by helicopter
Expect to find fewer islands
over the coming decades see Micronesia
Traffic island see traffic
If an island is joined to the mainland
by a bridge or road
it is generally still considered
an island –
unless you’re an utter pedant see Skye
Islanders are people
who inhabit an island
You may find their accent
or language differs from yours
Get used to it
Being able to row
can be a prerequisite for island life see Scilly
Boats are currency
Sunsets can be an important marker
of the day, as are sunrises
Don’t expect cocktails
Not everything on an island
is romantic see nuclear testing
see plastic
see poverty
see civil war
You might not have any reception
in both senses of the noun see hostility
see mindfulness
Conversely, your mobile may work better
than at home see Scilly
see Penzance
Sheep & goats may be preferred
to people – unless you are young
reasonably well-off, well-adjusted, with
a useful skill, are highly adaptable
& plan on having children see wannabe islander
see schooling
Oh & X is unlikely to yield any treasure
Only a fraction of the land mass
is visible see iceberg
Doesn’t necessarily have palm trees
Often has a feeling of inferiority
but very good at hiding this see above
Some disagreement
over whether a single rock
less than a metre across
can be considered see Norwegian coastline
Not necessarily inhabited
If inhabited by humans
rum, whisky & stout
can help maintain society see smuggling
Perhaps we can agree an island
needs to have a beach
not necessarily sandy –
pebbled, volcanic, granite, quartz etc –
are all permissible
Preferably with a bar or café
A strong contender
would have a mighty population
of birds – indeed part or even all
of the island may belong
to this population – this is best respected see cliffs
see guano
Natural harbours do not always exist
You may need to swim or –
if you’re wealthy &/or have
a complete disregard for the environment –
arrive by helicopter
Expect to find fewer islands
over the coming decades see Micronesia
Traffic island see traffic
If an island is joined to the mainland
by a bridge or road
it is generally still considered
an island –
unless you’re an utter pedant see Skye
Islanders are people
who inhabit an island
You may find their accent
or language differs from yours
Get used to it
Being able to row
can be a prerequisite for island life see Scilly
Boats are currency
Sunsets can be an important marker
of the day, as are sunrises
Don’t expect cocktails
Not everything on an island
is romantic see nuclear testing
see plastic
see poverty
see civil war
You might not have any reception
in both senses of the noun see hostility
see mindfulness
Conversely, your mobile may work better
than at home see Scilly
see Penzance
Sheep & goats may be preferred
to people – unless you are young
reasonably well-off, well-adjusted, with
a useful skill, are highly adaptable
& plan on having children see wannabe islander
see schooling
Oh & X is unlikely to yield any treasure
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Katrina’s fourth poetry collection, Battery Rocks, (Seren, 2024) won the Arthur Welton Award from the Society of Authors, the Holyer an Gof award for Poetry, and was recommended in The Guardian. Previous collections have won an Authors’ Foundation Award and Saboteur Award. She is a recipient of the Keats-Shelley Prize and has twice been highly commended in the Forward Prize. Katrina’s poetry has appeared on Poems on the Underground, BBC Radio 4’s Front Row, The Verb, Open Country and Poetry Please, and in The TLS, The Poetry Review and Modern Poetry in Translation. In 2025, Katrina published the pamphlet dance as if (Verve). Katrina performs her poetry internationally. Before poetry, Katrina worked in human rights. She has a PhD from Goldsmiths and tutors for Arvon and the Poetry School. Katrina lives in Cornwall. www.katrinanaomi.co.uk
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