Sustenance by Eugenia Leigh

Sustenance
Eugenia Leigh

Jesus said, Do not worry about your life,
what you will eat or drink. Or about your body,

what you will wear. So you cleared
your cupboards. Lay naked on the shelf

where I found you. I mistook you
for a loaf I had prayed for. You let me

take you in my mouth, and I binged
on your flesh. Both of us—unaware—

we should have prayed for love
instead of crumbs.            Still now, small

morsels of you
                               on my tongue.

MARGINALIA

1.
Day 27 of The Sealey Challenge. Today’s offering is Blood, Sparrows and Sparrows by Eugenia Leigh.

2.
This collection confronts the deep scars of trauma, revealing the many ways we revisit the narrative of our survival. I admire how the poet refused to turn away from the difficult experiences that have shaped her—I can only imagine what it was like writing this book, how that in itself is a brave pact to willingly go back and not lose the self in the process.

3.
The poems here navigate a delicate balance between despair and hope, centering on themes of persistence and redemption. The imagery of sparrows and blood serves as a potent symbol of the fragility and tenacity of life, underscoring the tension between what has been lost and what can still be saved.

4.
Throughout the collection, the act of remembering becomes an act of survival. By revisiting her past, the poet is reclaiming it, turning her pain into something that can be carried forward. This is not about finding closure or forgetting; it’s about transforming what has hurt us into something that strengthens us.