the afternoon shadows are long

and thin.

they climb through my window,

lie down on my bed,

unable to hold

themselves

up.

through the wall i hear my neighbour pray.

his afternoon Asr is a soft, rhythmic breath.

my ears do not know the words that are falling from his mouth.

but still, they fall quietly on my shoulders—made from strong things that i didn’t know i needed.

i wonder if he knows how far his prayer has travelled today, and how much work it has already done.

— i will take this holiness that walks through walls.

© Liezel Graham 2019.

Photograph by Leah Flaviah.