liezel graham

author | poet | thread artist

I am a storyteller and a poet.

I use words and thread, pencil and needle, paper and fabric.

my work is an ongoing conversation with myself.

(there is) life after death.

the wild cherry tree
that stands
sentinel
below my kitchen window, had

until today,

lost all her leaves,

but two.

and all morning long
i kept watch
over her labour
as i rinsed the remains of

give-us-our-daily-bread

from plates, and
somewhere
between brewing tea
and folding laundry,

she let go of the last signs
of life,

and i stood with my head
bowed
in that solemn moment, but

she swayed in the wind
and said,

‘there’s no need for sadness,
i have been expecting this loss
and
it is good.’

as two leaves became
one
with all the others, and

gold

lay like love,
all over the
very ordinary
lawn.

— (there is) life after death.