Testament

for Lew Welch

First, all the color wore off the face of it,
what was red & white is white
& finally without front cover at all, accessible.
Carried like a bible in the crook of my arm,
in my pack, for years a daily resource.
Feathers have crept in & a four leaf clover,
found the day my truck broke down forever.
A small stone, even, lived there for a while.
Coffee stains, tobacco ash & flake,
marked & tattered pages.
What was written well is used the same.