here is a small truth that sat on my shoulder a few days ago—pack light.
the journey will be over quick, and we will all leave naked.
it is better this way.
it means we really shouldn’t get too attached to anything that was made by human hands.
also, be careful what you exchange your time for.
you will never get it back.
the only full-bodied, red-lipped thing about this life, is to tell people that you love them.
show them how much they mean to you. make sure they know that they are cared for.
remember each kindness ever given to you, and then multiply it by thousands, and thousands more.
see how you are always held, even when you cannot see whose hands are cradling you.
we are all the same underneath our skin.
i have seen enough bodies split open by a scalpel beneath green sterile cloth.
i want to be the one who stitches the name of God in pink, instead of an angry black.
i want to be the one who scoots up, patting the ground with my dirty hands, saying:
‘here! sit here. i have made a place for you.’
i want to give what i didn’t receive.
that is ‘winning at life’.
stumbling across the holy in every face.
that is it.
i am not the gatekeeper, or the mouthpiece of God.
i am only someone who knows the shape and the taste of grace, a common prophet holding the door open for anyone who is hungry.
that is it.

© liezel graham 2022

{image a very vintage handkerchief stitched in shades of green, with ‘God’ stitched rebelliously in pink}

a few more lines from my morning pages and a photo of the piece that i shared the other night.

the poem, ‘Everywhere and in Everything’, will be in the new book.

this stitched piece has sold, but there are still a few others available in my shop and i would love for you to wander over there!

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/LiezelGrahamStudio

liezel