you have kept your heart
a door wide open,
.
even though
once upon a time,
.
on a darkly quiet street,
while everyone was sleeping,
or perhaps it was later in
a room
.
in a house, and
.
four walls,
a roof and a locked door
are not always
safe.
.
safe as houses
they say.
.
what do they know about
hands that you cannot
get away from.
.
the soft sounds of powdery moths circling the tired light,
.
. and you.
. and him.
.
and someone walked in and . took
what they wanted,
.
dirty footprints all over the floor, and
.
left.
.
before you knew how to say
.
no.
.
and how long have you
searched
and
searched
.
a map of the world in other men’s eyes, but still
.
you live your life
standing
on cliff edges,
.
your hands a white flag,
.
surrendered.
.
hope, in wild portions
everywhere
you go.
.
look at you.
.
bringing them in.
bringing them home.
talking them off bridges,
.
and ledges with full stops
as endings.
.
you never give up throwing
mercy into the wind,
.
letting grace grow green
in the dust.
.
you
.
are an exclamation mark of
defiant joy!
.
do you know how beautiful
brave looks on you?
.
— white flags on dark streets. (for elizabeth)
.
© Liezel Graham 2019.
.
Photograph by Chris Liu.
.
.
.
#liezelgraham #liezelgrahampoetry #spilledink #spilledwords #spilledthoughts #iweepinink #brave #bravesoul #courage #poetry #poetrycommunity #words #wordstoinspire #encourage #indiepoetry #indiepoet #wordswordswords #amwritingpoetry #writersofinstagram #poetsofinstagram #poema #postoftheday #scotland
today i saw a woman
.
in an orange jumper
and
a red floral skirt
.
creased
.
from all the living she had already done by
noon
.
brown hair unbrushed
.
rebelliously
wild
.
and when she smiled at me
the soft skin around her eyes
showed me how much
she loves to laugh
in colour
.
at life
.
a history lesson in joy
.
and for a moment she was
the most beautiful thing that
i had ever seen, and
.
i wonder if she knows this
when she looks at herself
in the mirror at night.
.
— the woman who laughed in colour.
.
© Liezel Graham 2019.
.
Photography by Kate Kozyrka.
.
Today at the library I saw a woman in a wrinkled, rumpled outfit, no make-up and with her hair unbrushed and a little wild, but when she smiled at me she lit the room up, and her smile was like an explosion of colour, and I hope she knows just how beautiful she is, and how her face spoke of her love for life, and it was a pure, intoxicating thing to witness.
.
liezel
.
.
.
#woman #liezelgraham #liezelgrahampoetry #indiepoetry #indiepoet #poetry #spilledink #spilledthoughts #youarebeautiful #realbeauty #words #wordsmith #poetsofinstagram #instagram #smile #iweepinink #poetryporn #poetrycommunity #poetrylove #poetrylovers #scotland #scottishpoets #wordstoliveby #encouragement #wordswithqueens
