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Introducing S.R. Graham

Instagram: @thesensualgenius

S.R., welcome and congratulations!

Please, tell us, what is your name and where are you from?

My name is Shakeitha Graham. I am from Salters, South Carolina.

When did you first fall in love with poetry?

I first wrote poetry when I had to write a poem as an assignment in my first-grade class. I didn’t know much about poems, but I’d write them occasionally without really understanding what I was doing. I never thought I was good at writing them until I started posting my poems on social media and getting compliments on them. I first fell in love with poetry when I went to college and started learning about it extensively. That was when I was exposed to more black poets like W.E.B Dubois, Nikki Giovanni, Toni Morrison, and James Baldwin.

Excellent! Tell us, what inspired your poem?

I used to be a perfectionist, so I would give myself a hard time about everything. I always wanted things to be perfect or I wasn’t able to recognize the value in it. I’ve grown from perfectionism a lot, but I still have my moments when I am hard on myself. It has always been easier for me to extend grace to others than it is for me to do it for myself. That’s what inspired my poem.

I can relate to that! In your own words, what is Grace?

Grace is the empathy and compassion we have for ourselves and others even when we fall short. It’s the space we hold for the imperfection within us since we are human.

In what ways can we extend more grace in our own lives and in the lives of others?

We can extend more grace in our own lives by recognizing our inner critic as the young version of us that doesn’t approve of the things we may be doing in the present. We should nurture that inner child and help it to understand that we are no longer in that stage of our lives. We can extend more grace to others by being more understanding and not judging them based off our values and principles.

Well said! What are you hoping to achieve with your poetry?

I am hoping to inspire people to feel the hard emotions when they read my poetry. I also hope to make people feel seen, heard, and felt.

Where do you see yourself one year from now?

One year from now, I see myself being an established poet and performing spoken word poetry on small and big stages.

I believe it!

And without further ado, I introduce to you “What I Lack,” by S.R. Graham

I offer it to those who pluck sin from between their teeth,
and pass down trauma like family recipes.
I offer it to those whose chests are desolate like coal mines,
but their eyes are brightly lit when love comes with a prize.
I offer it to those who take pain religiously, like daily vitamins,
but still implement hope and faith in their regimens.
I offer it to those who serve destruction as a three-course meal,
and make friends with drugs because they’re too afraid to feel.
I offer it to those who are at odds with life.
They are the ones that need it most
because their intrusive thoughts hold them hostage with a knife.
I offer it to the ones who are addicted to the light,
even though they pull foolish stunts
to remain in the public’s sight.

I offer it to women who wear their burdens
like pearls around their necks.
The ones who hide from their reflections
to dodge the secrets they want to forget.
I offer it to men who are spoon-fed large helpings of responsibilities
but are always thought of last when we are serving reciprocity.
I offer it to children who are forced into adulthood too soon.
Their inner beauty is sometimes stagnant
like butterflies who aren’t ready to leave their cocoon.
I’d offer it to the tired eyes looking back at me in the mirror,
but sometimes my vision is too cloudy to see the value in me clear.

So, I give offerings of grace to those whose sins are severe,
hoping that what I lack rewards its adherer.

Written by S.R. Graham, Copyright©2023

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About this Poet

Image Copyright©2023 S.R. Graham

S. R. Graham was born in October 1990 in South Carolina, where she still lives. She has a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and English attained at Southern New Hampshire University. She is a versatile writer, creating anything from poetry to novels and novellas. She is the author of the Two Monogamous series and the Pretty Privilege series. You can visit her website at srgraham.org to learn more about her and find all her works in one place. S. R. Graham is also a podcaster, a cosplayer, an advocate for sickle cell disease, and a sickle cell warrior.