The Sketch

My father once sketched
my mother recovering in bed
from a miscarriage,
the hurt he never revealed
but exorcized in their room,
corners of silence
as she slept unaware;
a hard pencil
working the shadow of moist grief
from his mind,
his hand moving across the page
to capture the crystalline mirror of the moment,
losing himself on the paper's cheekbones
in rhythm with senses which gazed
for so long
as the rain-swept afternoon
continued without respite,
a wasteland of hope
under a patchwork
which neither memory nor heart could erase.

Byron Beynon coordinated Wales's contribution to the anthology Fifty
Strong (Heinemann). His work has featured in several publications including San Pedro River Review, Cyphers, Nixes Mate, Wasafiri, The London Magazine, Poetry Wales, Third Wednesday, English: The Journal of the English Association and the anthology The Polaris Trilogy (Poems for the Moon - published by Brick Street Poetry, Inc 2023). He is the author of several collections including The Echoing Coastline (Agenda Editions). His most recent collection Where Shadows Stir (The Seventh Quarry Press) was launched at the birthplace of Dylan Thomas, Swansea, in February 2023.