Poem by Kate Gold

The Language of Angels

A calico cloth, laid out flat, like so much of your lands.
Thousands of stitches but nowhere near enough in number to measure the lives
taken.
The tiny drops of blood from a finger pierced by sharpness.
Nothing in the ocean of blood that has been brutally spilled.
Frustration at the lost thread, slipping from the needles eye.
Nothing, when you must pack your few belongings and move on, Again, again,
again.
Exasperation at my slowness, my lack of skill.
Nothing, when you must begin each day and find some thread of hope to do what
needs to be done for the children.
Hunger that causes me to consider putting aside my stitching.
Nothing, when I have ample food in my cupboard and you – you are slowly starving
as you feed your children first.
I sleep in a safe, warm, comfortable bed, whilst you huddle with what remains of your
family under a few blankets for protection.
Today I sewed the name of young woman with the same name as my own
granddaughter.
Aisha, 25 years old, someone’s daughter, someone’s granddaughter. Maybe
someone’s wife and someone’s mother.
In many ways I prefer the reverse side of the sewing. The strange, angular shapes.
The knots and loops.
And I choose to believe it is a language known only by angels.
That they might fast-track these souls into the presence of God. Where they might
know peace, love and acceptance.
Far, far away from the angry egos of bitter, old men.

#StitchTheirNamesTogether – a project with women all around the world stitching the
names of those killed in the Palestinian genocide. A small way to remember, to
honour.

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Kate Gold is a painter and poet living on the edge of Dartmoor and has written poetry since a child. After she studied poetry as part of a creative arts degree, she took her writing more seriously, honing and developing her writing skills. She went on to achieve an M.A in creative writing (poetry) In the past Kate worked as an art, poetry and creative writing tutor in HMP Bristol and ran writing workshops in community settings. Much of her poetry is inspired by her love of the wild beauty of the natural environment and her experience of caring for the dying. Her first poetry pamphlet was published in 2022 by Jawbone Press in Dorset.

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