Phillip T. Egelston

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So Beautiful

Beautifully aged one, so wonderfully
young you were new: untouched,
almost unseen (unearned), you were
that new when I said your breath was
splashed with sun – in that lost place
where I could not be your day and did
not follow you or follow you on home
to be with you old and gray under the
cold rafters, on the splintered floors, with
all your doors locked and only that little
bit of sun seeping under – in, with the dust:
yes, that long.

The poetry of Phillip Egelston has appeared in Rattle, Folio, RiverSedge, The Cresset, San Pedro River Review, Paris/Atlantic, Plainsongs, and other magazines. His audio poem recently appeared as a daily poem on Rattle.com. He also had a featured 'Poem Of The Week' in Four And Twenty Poetry Journal. One of his poems was a finalist in the 2015 'Narrative Poetry Contest' of Naugatuck River Review. New poetry will appear in Anglican Theological Review. His new book, RESTE PLACIDE, will be published by Create Space in February 2015. He is Advisor on Creative Writing and Visual Arts to the Shawnee Hills Arts Council in Southern Illinois.