before I knew cold / I felt cold
before I knew separate / I felt knife 
before I knew mind / I knew need

and something came / or did not

in this beginning time unmeasured 
something came / or did not

when body demanded / when mind wanted 
something came / or did not

when earliest hunger was for  -
ask / it will be given
seek / it will be found 

something came / or did not

if something did not come
(and it does not always come) 
there was another beginning   --
 
	fault / blame

if I ask
when will it be given / when find?
and something does not come

I may accept fiery swords that do not admit return
that they are real
that they are necessary

I may find
although I asked / although I sought 
paradise is lost 

little soul
now whom will you ask / where will you seek 

no longer helpless
what will you do to live

poem by Jo Mariner
image from the British Library Royal Manuscript Collection (public domain) Detail of a miniature of Adam and Eve being expelled from Paradise. Image taken from f. 9 of Bible historiale complétée moyenne (the 'Bible Historiale of John the Good').