new paths invite new paths
creation waits longing
tread down underbrush
crunch crushdeath

eager for revealing

for creation was subjected
blunt function of body-brain
think below skull-bone
creaturely subject subjected

to futility
not of its own will
“embrace it”
eyes afire whispers inspired

in hope that creation itself will be set free
from its bondage to decay
and will obtain freedom

agreed: but
birth rebirth of cosmos manifests as tedium
we know the whole creation has been groaning
 blunted strain

new paths invite new paths
in labor pains until now
blinding sun and dumb blunt function of the brain

“embrace it” say these blinded unblinded alive ashine
not only creation but we ourselves

I am not afraid to be eaten alive

Allison Boyd Justus, a Tennessee-born, Alaska-dwelling wanderer, holds a Master of Arts in New Testament Studies and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and Environment. She once spent a year watching sunrises, documented in her first book Solstice to Solstice to Solstice (Alternating Current Press, 2017). Recent poetry exploring intersections of theology, ecology, and feminist experience appears in Edge of Faith Magazine, High Shelf Press, Showbear Family Circus, Darkness Is As Light (Park End Books, 2020), Sinew (April Gloaming, 2021), and elsewhere. These days Allison can be found identifying Alaskan wildflowers and at allisonboydjustus.com.

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