lyrics | fictions | episodes ©E. Best, 2013-2020
I placed my feet in water
that sprang from sacred ground
the stones like silent counsellors
my wife and child stood round
some part of me I left there
it being so hot that day
the things that we remember
as memory falls away
a life as soft as water
a pillow where I lay
a pool along the wayside
all on a summer’s day
of [or pertaining to]
Spring
these quick awakenings
no longer beset by passion
once pursued
care unallowed
now sensing the sun overhead
in time of cloud
all is renewed
I opened the gate
on a garden of stones
at a house on the edge of the world
surrounded by love
and the darkness of night
the uncomplicated attention
of quiet things
like someone
throwing the curtains open
on a glorious summer day
it has always been this way
[first posted December 2014]
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
[first posted 22 November 2014]
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
when the pheasant hit the window
we were eating cake
lemon crumbs on our lips
I could have kissed you
but didn’t
[first posted 23 May 2015]
