[via negativa
perhaps I should have apologized for my inadequacies
and left it at that
I was only ever a constellation of freckles,
a parcel of horse muscle
what I wanted for you
was only what I wanted for myself
there is no solving for X
a loaf of bread + a loaf of bread
equaled your small body
a loaf of bread + a fire
equaled a bird in a wood stove
between all things: a shovel + an apple,
a needle + a brick]
ERIN WILSON’s poems have recently appeared or are forthcoming in december magazine, Reed Magazine, Fourteen Hills, CV2, The Emerson Review, and in numerous other publications. Her first collection is At Home with Disquiet; her second, Blue, is forthcoming (both from Circling Rivers). She lives in a small town on Robinson-Huron Treaty territory in Northern Ontario, Canada. Visit Erin Wilson Poems and Miscellany.
ERIN WILLIAMS is a Black artist and creative who specializes in drawing, abstract acrylics, and printmaking. She is pursuing an MFA in Illustration and Visual Culture program at Washington University in St. Louis. Her work has been featured in various newsletters and sites, and is showcased in several galleries online and in person across the country including the U.S. Botanic Garden and the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. From 2018-2021, she produced the podcast “In Which I Talk To Artists,” where she interviewed women artists about their work and inspiration. @erin_the_creator
