letter to none

~ Edwin Best ~ Leave a comment

I never wrote to you –
perhaps I should

love ties rope round
and then it pulls

leaves us stretching
like a kid under a tree

for one bright apple
nobody sees

I don’t like apples –
never did

don’t eat fruit much
and won’t until

sweet berries lean
towards my door

and that will happen
to me no more

failure to thrive

~ Edwin Best ~ 2 Comments

I found a flat grey stone on the beach
with scratch marks
scored deeply on one side

it reminded me of something I couldn’t account for
so I placed it in the yard
with other things I don’t care about
and thought no more of it

when I saw it again
the lines seemed more pronounced
(it may have been the light)
but it no longer reminded me of anything
other than how a young child starved of love
will fail to thrive

next day
I returned it to the beach

a three-legged dog followed me home
but I don’t want him

line breaks

~ Edwin Best ~ 10 Comments

I awoke unable to remember
how or why we write poems

or make these line breaks

alerting us to another way
of reading and seeing

now I remember

meanwhile
rainwater collecting in buckets
shines like something holy

cave drawings

~ Edwin Best ~ 3 Comments

this morning I sharpened my pencil
in expectation of words

little boats came instead
while antelope gathered
upon a white hill
to stare

cave drawings
from I don’t know where

I would rather have had words

say a little prayer

~ Edwin Best ~ 2 Comments

perhaps I should genuflect
light a candle
mumble something holy

but when the night terrors come
to this private vault
we call consciousness
only my dog can hear me

be near me

comfort this old skin

so I say a little prayer for him
and whisper I’m ok