it is faith, with her full hips
poured into her floral housecoat, always throwing open
the windows in the small rooms
where fear cannot escape the locked doors

{and fear that can’t escape starts breathing for you}

it is faith, with her red lips
climbing into my hair, her long limbs
tangled in my greying crown
gently feeding me small words that i plant
under the womb of my tongue

{and things that are born here are the compass to a life}

it is faith, with her tired body
and her lack of sleep, throwing seeds
into my ears, crooning little blessings
so that mysterious things might grow behind my eyes

so that i might feast on them for the rest of my life

so that my son might rest in their shade.

© Liezel Graham 2024

{this piece is finally finished and ready to fly off into the world}

this is for you whose ears need to hear the sound of life again, the certainty that everything is a season, that what you plant in your mouth, and behind your eyes, will steer your life.

this piece is done and listed in my shop.

i have started stitching words onto a little christening dress and i am already so in love with it!

thank you for being here,

liezel