“Crest” and “Funeral Poem Painted on Silk”
by John Tustin
“CREST”
My body riding on the
Crest
Of your body
The waves of us
Undulating
Under the moon
That guides our
Force
Toward the blankets of shore
Where we turn
Stones
Into sand
Mermaids clap sultry
Tailfins
And my body rides the
Crest of your
Body
To where awaits
The eyes of
All
To judge us
And the rocks now
Sand
Blessed and raw
Hot with the knowledge
We
Are now us and shall remain
Your body riding the
Crest
Of my naked body
The judgment
Dispensable
At long last
“FUNERAL POEM PAINTED ON SILK BANNER”
The river between us,
How it swells as winter approaches
And neither of us dare swim across
So we walk on either side
In the same direction,
Along the water’s edge in the cold.
By the time winter arrives
Perhaps you and I will at last meet
At the mouth of the river,
Diving as one into the final ocean
Where spring waits for us beyond the vastness,
On the other side.
John Tustin’s poetry has appeared in many disparate literary journals since 2009. fritzware.com/johntustinpoetry contains links to his published poetry online.
