“The Lasting Layer” by E.A. Toles

The Lasting Layer

you’ve painted a picture
with pastures. a horse
caught by the light, its
silhouette like a lightning bolt.
when you are finished,
we lay in bed together
as if there were no tomorrow. 

i pledged myself to you
nursed myself on you when
there was no milk. we’re
both full of dust, you said.

you told me the pastures
would not retain their green.
paintings are not made
with their decay in mind. 

There is no refuge
in my body. Only the pressing
question of one breath
before the other.

another layer is added
to the painting while
i am sleeping. you come
to me robed in excitement,
your eyes glitter and dawn.

the green is gone.
instead it is winter,
the early beginnings
when the flowers don’t
know they’re dying yet.
they have bloomed without
the least bit of worry.

e.a. Toles

e.a. toles is a poet learning to live in Austin, Texas. His work explores the relationship of mental health to spirituality and tries to answer the question, what is the marrow of life and how do I burrow myself into it? His poems have appeared in Rattle Magazine, Blaze Vox, Vallum Magazine,The Woodward Review, and Birds Piled Loosely. He is currently working on a science fiction novel.

Headshot: e.a. toles

Photo Credit: Staff