Jack Cooper

SAUNA

I kneel at the centre of a circle:
standing stones in steam.

Under open sky or fluorescent lights,
there have always been men with this need
for worship.

Jack Cooper is a science communicator with a background in biomedical research. His poetry has been commissioned by the Science Museum and Poetry Society, read on BBC Radio 4, and performed at the V&A. His debut pamphlet 'Break the Nose of Every Beautiful Thing' (Doomsday Press) received the Eric Gregory Award. Discover more of Jack's work at www.jackcooperpoet.com

Jack wrote the following about ‘Sauna’:

I had wanted to write about stone circles ever since finding the folklore surrounding Devon's Nine Maidens stone circle, which is said to be nine girls petrified as punishment for dancing on the Sabbath. I originally intended to create new folklores, but the stone circle took its current form as an extended metaphor after my first visit to a gay sauna since lockdown ended, a space which felt otherworldly: silent figures moving through steam, almost solemn. I initially connected this scene with the Christian idea of sin (as does Nine Maidens stone circle folklore), but sin didn't come into my true feelings on the scene at all, so I cut that thread.