At the edge of the ocean
I find my center –
the swell and dip of rhythmic waves
journeying from place
to place, never stopping, never
reaching any home –
worrying, teasing the shore then off
again
On the edge of the ridge
I find my worth –
how trivial I am when I view
the river, the gorge, the rise of mountain
as it climbs to my rocky seat,
where hawks wing below my feet
Water and stone –
transience, permanence –
on the edge, always the edge,
balance precarious, prize tempting
but never claimed
KB Ballentine’s sixth collection, The Light Tears Loose, appeared this summer with Blue Light Press. Published in Crab Orchard Review and Haight-Ashbury Literary Journal, among others, her work also appears in anthologies including In Plein Air (2017) and Carrying the Branch: Poets in Search of Peace (2017). Learn more at www.kbballentine.com.
Latest posts by KB Ballentine (see all)
- Edge of the Echo – by KB Ballentine - March 19, 2020
- Born into Legend – by KB Ballentine - March 19, 2020
- Work Week, Teacher – Poem by KB Ballentine - May 31, 2017