Poem 243 – Kempe: Creature

Kempe: Creature

She names herself
Creature:

this creature this
this creature that
and the Lord visited this creature
and this creature keenly wept
and this creature extravagantly sobbed*

These are this creature’s words in the best
way she can offer them as this creature
is a woman forbidden to read and write
in her time

She names herself
Creature:

What’s in a name?
a world of sin and repentance
a galaxy of crying and devotion
the infinite expanse and heavenly girth
of calling oneself that which is
every thing created: human animal fantastical

The weight of such a name –
the endearment of it
her crown under the patting palm of God

*pg. 58, The Book of Margery Kempe

And so, I reveal to you the theme of my next poetry collection: the ‘creature’ herself, Margery Kempe. Born in 1373 in what is now King’s Lynn, Norfolk, Kempe is known as the first woman to create an autobiography, making her one of the earliest known female authors…she was also a known as a medieval mystic as her book exemplifies the many visions and visitations she received from Jesus (aka Lord, God). I was first introduced to Kempe by Jane Christmas, a mentor and memoir writer herself! Thank you, Jane. I’ve been reading Kempe’s life story and I can feel her getting closer…magical things are happening around me/to me that is gathering an energetic pull from a very powerful spiritual female. I feel both scared and honoured and extremely curious about what will be revealed on the page through poetry. There may or may not be more poems inspired by Kempe. We’ll see.