A litany for living

Grace
1 min readFeb 28, 2022

(inspired by Audre Lorde)

For those of us who have seen
the sun rise over the ocean,
run its fingers through the blue-black silver,
form brassy waves and lines,
lift it up high into tufts of light,
gilded crowns holding up the dawn.

For those of us who have seen
green leaves so luminous
they shimmer and shine
from all the sun inside,
iridescent scarab beetle backs,
African starlings’ wings.

For those of us who have seen
how a tree is really a never-ending circle,
branches a grandmother’s arms
hugging tight around our heads,
swooping down to ground, to root
deep beneath the forest floor.

For those of us who have felt
the heart strain open with hope,
a clasp popping to unravel
our stomach’s twisted pain,
warm our arms with trust,
that golden fizzing glow.

For those of us who have known
we were always loved
we were always love,
we were meant to be here,
held at the centre of this world,
part of everything, full of living.

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Grace
Grace

Written by Grace

Traveler, poet, educator, yogi, activist, artist, writer, British-Jamaican Londoner living in Ghana https://soundcloud.com/gracelouisewood