From the Anthology
Emending Service: 2026 Veterans' Anthology
she woke up a new woman today.
she looked in the mirror and glimpsed someone else.
she had the same curly hair, the same lips, the same breasts, and shoulders.
she touched her skin.
it felt like the usual her.
her curves are still there making the same declarations of love and healing.
but, somehow she woke up new.
there’s a lightness,
a glint in her eye;
a subtle difference in her tone.
she is new.
her steps skate a bit softer.
her hands are higher and open as if to receive a new gift.
her face is special.
a new kind of special.
a new kind of warm.
even her hair is dancing a new jig,
bouncy and joyful;
the neighboring curls forged
in new cooperation,
a getting along like friends,
a gathering of gratitude!
she is new now.
a tiny bit of light urgingits way out of a fracture in her center.
what caused thisfissure?
this breaking forth—
this sudden dawning—
this appearing—
this glory.
this Arukah.
she is
now.
she is
new.
selah.
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Kristi Copez is a service‑connected U.S. Navy veteran (1978–1981) whose writing explores the quiet intersections of memory, faith, and creative resilience. She is a ceramist, poet, and emerging theologian based in Cleveland, Ohio, where she is forming Arukah Art, a nonprofit arts and jazz ministry rooted in cultivating sacred space centered on creativity, community, and spiritual grounding. Her work seeks to honor the lived experiences of those who navigate life at the margins. Through poetry & essays, she offers her work as an exploration of themes of healing, belonging, and the inner landscapes women veterans carry.
