As if until that moment
nothing real
had happened since Creation
As if outside the world were empty
so that she and he were all
there was—he mover, she moved upon
As if her submission were the most
dynamic of all works; as if
no one had ever said Yes like that
As if that day the sun had no place
in all the universe to pour its gold but
her small room.
(Previously printed in Accompanied by Angels,
Regent College Publishing, 2008)
Luci Shaw is a poet and essayist, and since 1986 she has been Writer in Residence at Regent College, Vancouver. Author of over thirty-seven books of poetry and creative non-fiction, her writing has appeared in numerous literary and religious journals and in 2013 she received the 10th annual Denise Levertov Award for Creative Writing from Seattle Pacific University. Her new collection, The Generosity, was recently released in August, 2020, by Paraclete Press.