Passageways – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 9 Comments 
Actions taken from love
can never be regrets
only open doors 
of possibility 
to step through.

Doorways for light 
to shine in 
to shine out
or meet in amplification.

Welcoming visitors 
you once viewed
as strangers
now family members.

An invitation to leave
a room that doesn't serve you
or is keeping you small.

This door is locked 
on the inside
a wish come true.
You are free to leave
anytime.

© Alicia Grimshaw 2020
Photo take in on a trip to Amsterdam, 2019. 

Cee’s B&W Photo Challenge
Word of the Day Challenge: Wish

Poem up on Visual Verse

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 8 Comments
artwork by ali

My poem, A WHITE WOMAN ASKS HERSELF IF SHE IS THE ONE, is up on Visual Verse. Click on the link to read it. The photograph offered as the prompt brought up deep emotions for me. I hope you will visit Visual Verse to see it for yourself and read the many poems that it inspired.

Thank you to Visual Verse for sharing my words.

Visual Verse is a collaboration. An anthology of art, poetry, short fiction and non-fiction. Each month we supply a compelling image and invite writers – published or unpublished – to submit a piece in response.

Visual Verse is a celebration. Of the drama of seeing and the desire to express it. Of the things that inspire us, move us, and that we find hardest to articulate.

Visual Verse is a challenge. We offer you the chance to experience the rush of writing without overthinking. Sometimes strange, sometimes beautiful, let the picture be the start of something you can’t predict: your own response.

A benevolent view

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 14 Comments 
what you had always assumed
to be solid, now is soggy sadness

water warped windows with
a view misguided, bent lines

of memory altered truth
to offer up unjustified reflections

will you forgive yourself
for all that was unseen before?
 
© Alicia Grimshaw 2020

Photo take in Atlanta, Georgia
 

Begin Again – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 7 Comments 
now, before the spark dims
and doubt blankets your 
mind with too comfortable

now, before familiar climbs onto your lap
with worries, warmly weighty
and resignation joins in to
pull courage from the room

now, before you forget 
the dreams of befriending
a green tree of sunlight
the touch of dragonfly landings.

© Ali Grimshaw 2020

In this world of ever changing circumstances taking time to slow down with a poem and a small group of thoughtful people is, like a cool glass of water on a hot day, refreshing. I look forward to the opportunity to write with you.

Writing together can:
• Surprise and delight us
• Allow expression of feelings in creative ways
• Guide our own journey

Click on the links below for more information and registration. 

Writing for Renewal: Poetry & Reflection Circle Monday, July 6 12:00 PM PDT

Writing to Restore Ourselves: Poetry & Reflection Circle Wednesday, July 8 4:30 pm PDT  

Writing to Restore Ourselves: Poetry & Reflection Circle Tuesday, July 14 9:30 AM PDT

Curious about weekly writing circles? Email me at  coaching@aligrimshaw.com

Theory of the Undaunted

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 23 Comments 
hold spontaneity in one hand
hold courage in the other

after hesitation kisses you goodbye
free fall into your future

let possibility
fully fill your lungs

float untethered, without
holding your breath

until the shore
disrobes the fog

then swim with the passion
of another year

you never thought
you would have.

© Ali Grimshaw 2019

Evolving

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 11 Comments

The world needs listeners now more than ever. My writing circles are designed to practice deep listening and reflective writing in small groups. I am starting up another four week writing series on the second week of July. Curious about weekly writing circles? Email me at  coaching@aligrimshaw.com

If I read you like a poem.

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 40 Comments 
If I brought poetry to your exhale
how would you breathe?

If you brought poetry to my cooking
how would it taste?

If we brought poetry to our conversation
what would we hear?

Would we notice the moan of wind 
escaping our arguments,

notice the water from our pipes is at a trickle, 
and our neighbors don’t stand in the front yard anymore

hateful weeds encroaching upon our edible garden
while voices overrun each other with lawn mower loudness?

A muffled fear, like cotton balls in our ears
falls free revealing the unison of our currents.
 
If I lived poetry
could I see the heart
underneath your skin?

Would you see me as a life 
as valuable as your own?
 
© Alicia Grimshaw 2020

“Poetry, whether the writing itself is explicitly political or not, always seeks a better way to respond, to think, to live.” – E. Ce Miller, writer, journalist

dVerse Poets Pub Open Link Night - share your poem and explore the poetry of others.

My light is shining.

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 27 Comments

The world needs each of us to shine our light brightly. I hope that my poetry reflects the light in you.

The Auroras & Blossoms NaPoWriMo Anthology: 2020 Edition

I am honored to be one of the 38 contributors with two poems included in this inspirational anthology. It is currently available for a reduced price until its official publication date on June 23rd. Thank you to the founders and co-editors Cendrine Marrouat and David Ellis for their efforts to create this anthology.

The Auroras & Blossoms NaPoWriMo Anthology: 2020 Edition is now available for pre-order.

Poems from the Circle

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 2 Comments 
we are held one moment, one
breath, one heartbeat at a time.

even when I feel I am falling,
I am held, safely.

sometimes the fire within,
which most often warms and
lights my next step, rages.

out of control – yes – that is the rage
unseen, well hidden and buried;
wounds of the past.

wanting to be felt, seen, honored –
so the soft warm light returns.

brighter, free.

heart opened.

By Carrie Cannady

I am grateful for Carrie’s permission to share her poem from the writing circle here. You can find more of Carrie’s writing on her blog, LeadOurLives.net

I continue to meet amazing women across different time zones. Together we are writing, listening and learning from one another. Share your voice with us.

Writing together can:

• Provide authentic connection

• Allow expression of feelings

• Guide our own journey

Click on the links below for information and registration. 

Writing for Renewal: Poetry Reflection Circle, 6/14, 7:00 PM PDT

Writing For Renewal: Poetry and Reflection Circle 6/17, 9:30 am PDT

Motherhood Explored: Women’s Writing Circle, 6/13, 10:30

AM PDTMotherhood Explored: Women’s Writing Circle, 6/16, 7:00 PM PDT

Curious about weekly writing circles? Email me at  coaching@aligrimshaw.com

The purpose of mistakes

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 56 Comments 
You must lose things
to find them.
Rip to repair, slip
to find out,
who you return as.

Tumble through trials
be torn away
from the known
to evolve stronger.

You must reach 
your own hand
be burned unjustly
to hear my scar's story.

© Ali Grimshaw 2020

dVerse Poets Pub - Quadrille #105 "Slip"