Creatura
by Ashley Sposato
CREATURA
I walk this Earth appearing
only human,
a mere woman who reaches
for a crown of
stars.
Look closer and you will see
I am maple storied
in moss, my wounded heart
a damp tapestry, bright
with snowmelt.
I am not a poet.
I am a poem
offered, a sanguine branch
sweet with sap.
Even now, the new
moon of my soul
rises, gathering
light.
Endlessly I become.
O luminous One,
awakening the heart from its ancient sleep.
My worship cannot be understood
in the halls of men.
My song is hidden in the trickle
of boreal streams, the gleaming
dark cry of the ravens.
Reverence cannot be thieved,
only borrowed.
When the first leaves of March arrive,
dazzling and red as June strawberries,
I will walk into the wild thickets,
I will let the blessed briars catch on my skin
and I will not be afraid.
They will not ask for my blood, and yet
I would give it.
I would give it.
All that I am is not mine alone.
I am stars made imminent, their fire
enshrined within bone.
Time is not linear; it flows
dark like a river to the sea.
Each ancient story spoken,
prophecy still to be lived.
I offer my garments to the womb of the morning.
To the spring dew, I lay down my fleece.
May it be on Earth as it is in Heaven, He said.
My lips are a dowsing rod,
each prayer incanted
a ley line.
ASHLEY SPOSATO
Ashley Sposato is a poet who seeks to marry magic with the earthly. An aspiring folklorist, she invites readers to explore grief and wonder through the prophetic lens of the old stories. Naturally an introvert, she prefers the company of wild folk to humans, but if you bring her a good cuppa, she'll warm up to you.
Ashley currently resides with her husband and sibling Alder in the hills of the Berkshires, which are the unceded ancestral homelands of the Muhheaconneok nation, Mohican people or Munsee Lenape people.
Ashley is currently working on a book of poetry, release date TBA. You can find her on Substack at Idyll & Wild and on Instagram @idyllwildpoetry.