Sunsets and gratefulness

Today I simply stood in awe of the sun setting behind a Durban hill. Despite those tiny circles that appear in your line of vision, I watched it until it was gone and it was spectacular. I managed to take a photo but my phone died before the most extravagant exit. This was indeed a blessing in disguise as it made for no distractions. (Imagine we took the time out of our day, just once in awhile to watch the sun setting, instead of a brief glance. The progression of it all is actually what makes it what it is.)

I sipped on the last of my tea and breathed in deeply and became exclusively aware of the splendor that surrounded me. 

I know I am because I said am

I know girls who are trying to fit into the social norm
Like squeezing into last year's prom dress,
I know girls who are low rise, mac eyeshadow, and binge drinking.
I know girls that wonder if they're disaster and sexy enough to fit in
I know girls who are fleeing bombs from the mosques of their skin
playing russian roulette with death; it's never easy to accept
that our bodies are fallible and flawed
But when do we draw the line?
When the knife hits the skin?
Isn't it the same thing as purging,
because we're so obsessed with death,
some women just have more guts than others
The funny thing is women like us don't shoot
We swallow pills, still wanting to be beautiful at the morgue,
still proceeding to put on make-up,
still hoping that the mortician finds us f###able and attractive
we might as well be buried with our shoes,
and handbags and scarves, girls
we flirt with death everytime we etch a new tally mark
into our skin
I know how to split my wrists like a battlefield too
but the time has come for us to
reclaim our bodies
our bodies deserve more than to be war-torn and collateral,
offering this f###dom as a pathetic means to say,
"I only know how to exist when I'm wanted"
Girls like us are hardly ever wanted you know
We're used up and sad and drunk and
perpetually waiting by the phone for someone to pick up
and tell us that we did good
You did good.

( I know I am because I said am, my body is home)
So try this
Take your hands over your bumpy lovebody naked
and remember the first time you touched someone
with the sole purpose of learning all of them
Touched them because the light was pretty on them
and the dust in the sunlight danced the way your heart did
Touch yourself with a purpose
Your body is the most beautiful royal
Fathers and uncles are not claiming your knife anymore
Are not your razor, no
Put the sharpness back
Lay your hands flat and feel the surface of scarred skin
I once touched a tree with charred limbs
the stump was still breathing
but the tops were just ashy remains,
I wonder what it's like to come back from that
sometimes I feel a forest fire erupting from my wrists
and the smoke signals sent out are the most beautiful things
I've ever seen
Love your body the way your mother loved your baby feet
and brother, arm wrapping shoulders, and remember,
This is important:
You are worth more than who you f###
You are worth more than a waistline
You are worth more than any naked body could proclaim
in the shadows, more than a man's whim
or your father's mistake
You are no less valuable as a size 16, than a size 4
You are no less valuable as a 32A than a 36C,
Your sexiness is defined by concentric circles within your wood;
wisdom
You are a goddamn tree stump with leaves sprouting out:
reborn
- Mary Lambert

Oh! how gloriously effective you are Google.
Here's where I found the words I spoke about in my last post.
Beautiful.

Love has come for you

How long you have travelled in darkness weeping

No rest in language, no words to speak 
But there in the wreckage beneath bricks and bindings
Love has come, Love has come for you
So lift up your heart now, to this unfolding
All that has been broken will be restored 
Here runs deep waters for all who are thirsty
Love has come, Love has come for you
Ten thousand angels will light your pathway 
until the day breaks fully in the East 
They will surround you and make your way straight
Love has come, Love has come for you.  


I recently rediscovered this beautiful piece of writing I found a few years ago. I have no recollection of where it actually came from but I am reminded of why I loved it so much when I first read it. 

Light/ Art

I just find myself marveling at the creative brilliance this world is so oozing in.

Creased Japanese paper, single light source, shadow
By Kumi Yamashita

Oh my goodness there's more.
Paula Braconnot.
I am in love.