Proud to share the cover of Ancestor’s Daughter. Shot by none other than @qurissy . We took these photos back in 2022 long before I knew that the ancestor’s hands were gently nudging my back, moving me forward. Telling me a story that only time would reveal.
These poems are meant to sit with you, slowly.
To seep in over time.
Soup. Nourishment.
That version of me saw the vision. This version carried it through.
It took me years to say I am who I am. Somehow holding this book doesn’t define who I am rather embodies. More than a writer. More than a poet. A creator with a vision and the discipline and willingness to see it through. More than a book, but a life. Not defined by fear or trauma but Freedom. These poems document that journey. They say you started there and arrived here.
The middle saw you through.
Ancestor’s Daughter - May 4th
There once was a girl who dreamed of being many things…
I’ve been dreaming a lot lately. Both in wake and in sleep. Visions I’ve had since a little girl. Seeds that were planted at a young age starting to bud. I feel closer to myself, closer to the little girl who spoke her dreams with confidence as if she already knew they were coming. They are. In a lot of ways, they are already here and I see more on the horizon. Her purity and innocence were fertile ground for her dreams to take root. Her foresight propelling us forward. God bless the little girl with dreams who grew to be the woman making them happen 🤍
📸: @jessicawlevin - Thank you my friend for seeing me in this returning
Ancestor’s Daughter is Now Available.
Released to the wind today.
Plant seeds They said. So I planted.
I began telling stories- writing them, sharing them. I planted flowers wherever my feet stood.
I prayed and I listened. These poems tell the story
of Time
of Forgiveness
of Grace.
I dedicate this book to where my feet once stood and the many who walked with me to Arrive Here.
Ancestor’s Daughter Available Now
Book in Bio
Link in story
For the mothers-mothers of many forms
Those birthing children
Those birthing themselves
The caretakers
The wayfinders
The ones in service
However you mother, these poems are for you.
Ancestor’s Daughter preorder in bio
Available May 4th
34. This birthday is an honoring of Them.
From the Earth, A Daughter was born.
My people were from Southern soil with dreams beyond tobacco fields.
Preachers, musicians, seamstresses too.
The seeds they planted, watered in time, waiting for the right moment to Bloom.
Dreams of sovereignty and following your own path.
Ancestor’s Daughter, a poetry book, is a gift, an offering to them and to myself. Poems as a roadmap for the unpaved path.
Arriving May 4th 📖
God is Amazing,
Grace
image: @laplatanegra
A part of me is still holding on to this residency experience, to this place. To the Abundance of it all. One that is hard to fully capture in words (though I attempted in a recent post) and a picture hardly does it justice.
It was an experience that had to be felt.
I am grateful to hold that feeling.
Thank you @mendocinoartcenter for opening the portal to a magical new beginning.
Join current Greenhouse artist-in-residence Grace Brown @igoby_grace for a gathering for the things that are not yours to carry alone.
This Sunday from 11am-1pm at Hillcrest Cemetery.
ALL are welcome, altar offerings encouraged.
This event is free to the public, donations are welcome and will directly support the artist.
My journey brought me to Oakland. The Bay area. A refuge this place has been.
My time in The Bay was nothing short of a miracle. A reminder that God is Everywhere.
Thank you to @tamarackoakland for being my first live poetry performance.
To @krystallauk and @ritualvalencia for being the home of my first gallery display and @r.c.w.land , my twin heart, for bringing me in with our twin pieces.
To @nomadicbookshop for opening your doors for me to host my first reading.
To @soulflowoakland for being a sanctuary.
To the Land for being the ancestor that led me here.
Many doors opened for me during my winter here. To homes and opportunities. I’m grateful.
The river is flowing again, to @mendocinoartcenter for my first artist residency, The Greenhouse Residency.
God is Amazing.
Where Have You Been?
I’ve been spending time with Mother. She’s hurting you know. The trees, The Ocean, The soul. The land has been speaking, the climate has been chaos. The Earth is mirroring the living and needs our help. We need each other’s help. The living and the Land. The living to each other.
I’ve been spending time with the dead to learn more about the living. Those who have found the most peace. To learn how to navigate mine and others grief.
I’ve been spending time writing because it makes the most sense in a heartbreaking world. To shine light in the dark is the least I can do when my life is filled with uncertainty too.
I’ve been rebuilding after destruction. Planting seeds of new foundation. I left Chicago, a place I called home for 11 years, in April. A step out in Faith. Holding my Maker’s hand and have been held the whole way.
My heart is my anchor. It always will be.
Home exists in many ways, my friends. I write most about this in my substack, my digital home these days (link in bio). It’s quiet there. A space to breathe.
Until the next time. Be kind. To yourself and others.
I love you.
I mean it.
Grace
Programs like Hear We Art™ create space for artists and community members to heal through expression. By blending creativity and wellness, we see people rediscover their voices, release what no longer serves them, and connect through shared stories.
🧡 Guided by Grace led a powerful wellness segment that reminded us how reflection and creativity can transform hearts and communities alike.
#HearWeArt #ILAcreative #ArtAsHealing #GuidedByGrace
Hi Dear One,
You’re not the same as you once were. None of us are. Grief has a way of changing you. Love changes you. You learned they are one and the same. Two sides of a copper coin. These five years grew you, freed you in ways unimaginable. No longer naive, you weathered the storms. If I could tell you anything it’s that you will survive and make it to the other side. More than that, you will thrive in who you’ve become.
Your ancestors placed a seed in you that’s been birthing from the beginning. You not only freed yourself but so many before you and the ones who will come after. Your No More became a lineage’s Not Ever. Choosing You was no easy decision. A sacrifice that lead to many deaths. But remember Dear One what God takes away will be returned tenfold if you walk in Faith. You carried weight that was not yours and we placed it in the hands of the Almighty.
Dear One if I can tell you anything it’s to Lighten your load, take only what you need.
Your heart is your greatest strength. A gift to be protected.
Your vessel, sacred.
Your voice, an instrument.
Your energy, essence.
Your presence, power.
You are the medicine.
You are the miracle.
My God if you could see the walking testimony you are today you would know that your healing, your battle was not in vein but for your highest calling.
You made it Dear One and I Thank You.
Love Always,
Grace (and the many who walk with us)
📸 seen by: @mercedes_zapata 💛
