“If I should bear the cold
and see life’s winter through,
then let my scars,
when I am old,
point travellers to you.”
In the long winter nights of the soul, this collection of fifty-three poems is offered as a companion for those who live by faith, not sight, and need reminders of the glory of an already-and-not-yet inheritance with all the saints. Drawing from the ancient wells of metaphor, music, and prayer, these poems store up the comforting warmth of a light that shines through both nature and Scripture—a light the darkness cannot overcome—urging readers to fix their eyes on Jesus through all seasons.
“This is a special little collection of faith-oriented poems centring on the theme of eschatological longing. In a variety of forms and free verse, interspersed with six original illustrations, there are 53 poems in 3 sections of 17 accompanied by a “prologue” poem and an “epilogue” poem. The math works out to level up the significance of the whole: all the different numbers are prime, and being therefore also odd, each section of 17 has a centre at which sit key interpretive poems that summarise the conceit of the whole section; thus too the centre of the middle section is also the centre of the whole book, and its climax. You’ll find the same chiastic pattern written into a number of individual poems.
I want my readers to enjoy my poetry with both their mind and senses. I endeavour to write with little enough obscurity that the average non-poet can discern the subject, but with enough complexity that a trained poet can unravel layers of meaning and wordplay. I give attention to the visual arrangement of poems, especially if they’re free verse, and also to the sound of each line as one word gives way to another. Perhaps you will get more out of the poems you read aloud. A handful of them are actually song texts with heavy metrical rhythms.
Most of all, I want to encourage Christians in our shared faith. The present form of this world is passing away (1 Cor. 7:31); the universe, lovely as it is, will wear out like a garment (Isa. 51:6); but Jesus is making all thingsnew (Rev. 21:5). We who groan inwardly while we wait for the redemption of our bodies (Rom. 8:23) can sometimes lose focus on these truths, either through the noise and glitz of the world around us or the painful consciousness of our own many insufficiencies. The memorable meditation of poetry is one way to inhabit and hold onto faith in the midst of an existence rife with distraction, delusion, and doubt.”
Join Kilby Austin’s reader community and explore her catalog of work on Substack. https://kilbyaustin.substack.com.
Written and Illustrated by Kilby Austin
Read more about Kilby on our Authors page.
Expected Availability: 6 July 2026
87 Pages
A5 Hardcover 148×210mm
ISBN 978-3-911469-14-2
“If I should bear the cold
and see life’s winter through,
then let my scars,
when I am old,
point travellers to you.”
In the long winter nights of the soul, this collection of fifty-three poems is offered as a companion for those who live by faith, not sight, and need reminders of the glory of an already-and-not-yet inheritance with all the saints. Drawing from the ancient wells of metaphor, music, and prayer, these poems store up the comforting warmth of a light that shines through both nature and Scripture—a light the darkness cannot overcome—urging readers to fix their eyes on Jesus through all seasons.
“This is a special little collection of faith-oriented poems centring on the theme of eschatological longing. In a variety of forms and free verse, interspersed with six original illustrations, there are 53 poems in 3 sections of 17 accompanied by a “prologue” poem and an “epilogue” poem. The math works out to level up the significance of the whole: all the different numbers are prime, and being therefore also odd, each section of 17 has a centre at which sit key interpretive poems that summarise the conceit of the whole section; thus too the centre of the middle section is also the centre of the whole book, and its climax. You’ll find the same chiastic pattern written into a number of individual poems.
I want my readers to enjoy my poetry with both their mind and senses. I endeavour to write with little enough obscurity that the average non-poet can discern the subject, but with enough complexity that a trained poet can unravel layers of meaning and wordplay. I give attention to the visual arrangement of poems, especially if they’re free verse, and also to the sound of each line as one word gives way to another. Perhaps you will get more out of the poems you read aloud. A handful of them are actually song texts with heavy metrical rhythms.
Most of all, I want to encourage Christians in our shared faith. The present form of this world is passing away (1 Cor. 7:31); the universe, lovely as it is, will wear out like a garment (Isa. 51:6); but Jesus is making all thingsnew (Rev. 21:5). We who groan inwardly while we wait for the redemption of our bodies (Rom. 8:23) can sometimes lose focus on these truths, either through the noise and glitz of the world around us or the painful consciousness of our own many insufficiencies. The memorable meditation of poetry is one way to inhabit and hold onto faith in the midst of an existence rife with distraction, delusion, and doubt.”
Join Kilby Austin’s reader community and explore her catalog of work on Substack. https://kilbyaustin.substack.com.
Written and Illustrated by Kilby Austin
Read more about Kilby on our Authors page.
Expected Availability: 6 July 2026
87 Pages
A5 Hardcover 148×210mm
ISBN 978-3-911469-14-2
