By Miriam Erasmus
When God gave me some fabric
On the day that I was born
He said, “ One day you’ll cherish this,
Even though it’s old and worn.
Take this, my child. Embroider it
With memories good and bad,
And, at the end, you will recall
The beautiful life you had.”
And so I made my sampler
With coloured silks and twine.
I built my life as my Nana did –
One stitch at a time
My Nana made a sampler
In Eighteen Ninety Nine.
With vibrant coloured wools she stitched
Across the fabric lines.
Letters first, then numbers,
And finished with her name.
The colours shine into my heart
As I look at it again.
And so I made my sampler
With coloured silks and twine.
I built my life as my Nana did
One stitch at a time
I started with my needle.
Easy stitches first.
Then, as I grew, the skill improved
And sometimes the colours burst.
Through happy times and sad times,
The threads retraced it all,
And, now I’m old, I gently gaze
On the wonder of it all.
And so I made my sampler
With coloured silks and twine
I built my life as my Nana did
One stitch at a time
And so I made my sampler
With coloured silks and twine
I built my life as my Nana did
One stitch at a time.
© Miriam Erasmus, May 1st 2021
Author Bio:
Singer/Songwriter Miriam was born in Lewes, Sussex in 1948, and has a lifetime of making music.
From 1993-7 she was “Miriam Backhouse. The First Lady of Folk”.
She still tours Europe with her own songs and traditional ones.
In 1977 she married John Erasmus and moved to South Africa.
They raised a family as “Mim and John” playing music for all ages, but mostly touring the local Schools from 1987 to 2018.
She wrote 300 Educational songs and poems for children.
Now a journalist, she writes of life in South Africa and her travels.
Contact Author:
YouTube link:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnpj8REUlOzHPXnPnULwpKg
Facebook link:
https://web.facebook.com/miriam.erasmus
