1 Poem by Bart Edelman

Betrothed

I’ve decided to marry the Devil.
This will strengthen my soul.
Set my path far straighter
Than it’s previously been.
Clear up any confusion
Between me and the silly whim
I first thought of as heaven.
Sure, let God pitch a fit
If he has problems with it—
Sort through his misgivings.

I’ve been a lost sheep,
For as long as I remember,
Lacking both flock and pasture
To keep me out of trouble.
I just come by it naturally;
Must be in my blood.
Yes, a new union makes sense.
When my mate proffers evil,
So much the better.
No false truths to dispense—
Secrets kept from each other.


Bionote

Bart Edelman’s poetry collections include Crossing the Hackensack, Under Damaris’ Dress, The Alphabet of Love, The Gentle Man, The Last Mojito, The Geographer’s Wife, Whistling to Trick the Wind, and This Body Is Never at Rest: New and Selected Poems 1993 – 2023. He has taught at Glendale College, where he edited Eclipse, a literary journal, and, most recently, in the MFA program at Antioch University, Los Angeles. His work has been anthologized in textbooks published by City Lights Books, Etruscan Press, Harcourt Brace, Longman, McGraw-Hill, Prentice Hall, the University of Iowa Press, Wadsworth, and others. He lives in Pasadena, California.