Tight Rope

Belonging
In the balance.
When you stand
On a tight rope,
You belong
nowhere.
Not the right.
Not to the left.
Certainly
not the middle.
To be accepted.
To be loved.
Only stay
so we can watch
You dance on
the tight rope line
And wear your
pretty lil’ dress
Starched and stiff.
Umbrella in
your small hand
We’re all watching you.
From down below.
Gaping mouths
Frozen wide eye
Waiting for
the fall.
Holding breath
Don’t lean left
(Or right)
No one will
Catch you.
If you fall.
If you’re free.
Do you belong
Anywhere
at all?


Grace Brindle is a leader birthed in the silent fires of the purity movement and the height of evangelical conferences and mission trips. In the Northwoods on the land of the Anishinaabe, Grace has attended, cared for, and witnessed the birthing of rich and deep stories.Never considering herself an artist but a firm believer that everyone is creative, Grace began the journey of writing a poem a day in 2021. With the mantra, “We can only go with others as far as we are willing to go ourselves,” she learned much about herself during her year of poetry. Grace attempts to resiliently hold creation in its poetic beauty at www.gracebrindle.com.