Enter the Mysteries of Light. Scroll to journey through the five stages, each unfolding in image and verse.

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mystery of

water

"The glisten of tidebirth... a brutal baptism lashes light until it learns to speak.”

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mystery of marriage

The Miracle of the Wedding / demonstrates power / inspires disciples / a man and a woman / the man received spirit and life / and the woman received spirit and life / the man received understanding and the power of movement / the woman received understanding and the power of movement / the man received clothing / the woman received clothing / The man was named Ash / the woman was named Elm / never to mix roots / despite all they shared.

“Compost crawling with larvae, nourishing birds—an empire built on decay.”

mystery of kingdom

upon this Rock, I build my church / give you the keys to the kingdom /even Orpheus / charmed the gates of the underworld / with song / Odin hung himself / from the world tree / Yggdrasil for nine days and nights / all for knowledge / Prometheus stole fire / from Mount Olympus / tried to control the world / the feathered serpent deity / flew from a rock / with keys / fire / knowledge / on a ship of snakes.

mystery of transfiguration

“The gaslight flickers... the body lit precisely, exposed as both artifice and truth.”

mystery of

body

“Delicately placed, dismantled, returned to humus. The body, always given.”

Discover the full collection in Reasons for Étant Donnés. Each Mystery expands beyond the page, inviting you to look closer—through the keyhole.

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Reasons for Étant Donnés

is structured around five Mysteries of Light: Water, Marriage, Kingdom, Transfiguration, and Body, each containing ten numbered sections of poetry. Drawing inspiration from Marcel Duchamp's "Étant donnés" this work is a complex, multi-layered text exploring themes of creation, transformation, and existence.