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the raspberry tasted of youth.
‘how truly simple
this is’,
i thought, as i waited for
the coffee to brew.
it is raining today,
a cold rain,
a december rain.
it is only a few weeks away
from the solstice.
the days move so swiftly,
chasing something with such haste.
as i stood watching the rain
and eating the raspberries
that tasted of youth,
i tried to understand
this movement of time;
this day that runs ferociously
to some unseen end.
it was never like this
in my youth;
time moved with a gentleness.
i’d stand amongst the raspberries,
free from care,
only being mindful of their tiny thorns,
and eat, and eat, and eat.
i began to understand,
breaking myself away from reverie
and pouring my coffee,
that the raspberry patch was
my kingdom,
i felt safe there
tucked amongst the tangled bramble
and the thorns.
the world outside
was one of turmoil;
it held a man of such fierceness
that a few scratches
from the inside of my kingdom,
my sanctuary,
paled in comparison
to his anger.

Published by Jeremiah Ray

Jeremiah Ray is an interdisciplinary artist and writer living and working in the coastal Maine region. He has an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His visual artwork is much like his life insofar as it is a constant journey of exploration and discovery. In his formative years, Jeremiah traveled extensively, exploring languages and cultures to fulfill a need for both adventure and as instruments of further understanding himself. Jeremiah completed his MFA in studio art with one intention - to teach. He desired to assist others in finding and honing their unique, personal language. He has always believed that art transcends verbal communication. Discovering one's voice in an individual medium and utilizing it to articulate nonverbally is the greatest obstacle and the most potent ability. In 2016 Jeremiah was diagnosed with advanced testicular cancer. This drastically shifted his perspective on art, visual and written, and solidified his firm belief that they are indeed a universal language. Straddled with the emotional burden of a cancer diagnosis, Jeremiah became increasingly aware that he often lacked the adequate vocabulary to understand and share his experiences fully. As such, during the most trying time in his life, he set the task of answering two core questions. First, what is vulnerability? And secondly, how do I communicate this with others? Still in recovery, Jeremiah has retained these as primary questions when beginning a project, understanding that vulnerability is intrinsic to being human and transcends language and culture.

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