Something does not feel right here.
In all of this, something is wrong,
the space disturbed somehow
in its delicate balance.
You changed imperceptibly at first
and then almost died today
my sweet companion
my loyal antenna
of measureless receptivity.
Only in its absence do I recognize
that you have sequestered my feelings
like carbon from the atmosphere
into the myriad-tendriled granularity of your roots
returning to the soil
what had speckled my soul
like sullied onus
loathsome burden.
You speak to me as I apprehend you
the gnarling language of shifting bark.
I discriminate not in lifting burdens
but to be caressed
I only know one form.
So I cup you in my hands
and close my eyes
Something moves within my chest
chimeric processes of disintegration
liquefy what once felt solid
dislodging fragments of selfhood
oscillate out of atomizing fingertips
and particles merge and transform
in luminous photosynthesis
into the cores of our cells.
It is through this act of love and self-unmaking
that we birth each other,
you and I.
—
Justus Wachs is a participatory action researcher, poet, and PhD candidate at McGill University in Montreal. Combining contemplative practices with creative methods like poetry, storytelling, and meditation, his work explores how inner transformations of values and worldviews can inspire collective action and systemic change. With a decade of environmental activism and creative facilitation, Justus engages with sustainability-focused activists and organizations to foster transformative learning and address socio-ecological crises.
