A love note to my mother. In appreciation of the love mothers give every day.
© Ali Grimshaw 2018
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Theory of the Undaunted
hold spontaneity in one hand
hold courage in the other
after hesitation kisses you goodbye
jump 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
d’Verse Poets Pub – Theories of Everything
The photo was taken in Portland, Oregon – Inspiring quote by Brene Brown
Soul Box
Stars could fade, darkness
like nothing, this world without
you as my heart light.
© Ali Grimshaw 2019
THE SOUL BOX PROJECT is a national community art project calling for the making of one hand-folded paper box to represent every person killed or injured by gunfire in the U.S. since 2014. Hundreds of thousands of these Boxes will be displayed together in massive art installations to reveal the staggering number of gunfire victims.
I had the privilege of visiting this exhibit and making my own Soul Box to contribute to the cause. If you are near Portland, Oregon take time to visit and read what these boxes say. Multnomah Arts Center Gallery
Find out more at SoulBoxProject.org
“The point is, art never stopped a war and never got anybody a job. That was never its function. Art cannot change events. But it can change people… because people are changed by art – enriched, ennobled, encouraged – they then act in a way that may affect the course of events… by the way they vote, they behave, the way they think.” – Leonard Bernstein
Cultivate
Shadowed understory no longer needed
sprout through old layers of indecision
boldly bolt toward sunlight to come.
Regardless of broken branches,
depleted soil from years
of growing the same crops.
Angle for full height, extension
of reach, beyond what is
expected of your species.
Grow yourself beyond
the gardens of your past
self.
© Ali Grimshaw 2019
“Both abundance and lack exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend.” – Sarah Ban Breathnach
Open Link Night – d’Verse Poets Pub
Available 24/7
Never preoccupied by screens screaming
unknown friends, nor business buzzing heads.
Mine sit in wait, pocket ready, stacked bedside,
cursive faded on the bathroom mirror. Ever-ready
to ask courageous questions, with reassuring palms
warmly press down on my shoulders. They lead
remind from behind, cocoon me from nightmare bombs
and disappearing green, when my inside raisins.
Trustworthy friends of ink, folded and unfolded
because the need is so great.
© Ali Grimshaw 2018
Poem in Your Pocket Day 2019 is on April 18 and is part of National Poetry Month. On this day, select a poem, carry it with you, and share it with others at schools, bookstores, libraries, parks, workplaces, street corners, and on social media using the hashtag #pocketpoem.
“You will never be alone with a poet in your pocket.” – John Adams.
Topography
An inner dissection
sections of her heart
thinly unlayered, to find
the magnificence of awe
that used to be part of her.
Faded peak moments mapped
on her skin. Elevations reached
and fallen from while yearning
changed her topography.
Thoughts of who
she could become, still
a proposed expedition
© Alicia Grimshaw 2019
SHADOW ~ PIC AND A WORD CHALLENGE #182
Absent
The sad yellow kitchen towel
knows that you will not be returning.
It sags with grief, folded into itself.
No longer your footsteps
squeak across the floor
to make the house speak.
I sit in your chair to be with you.
© Alicia Grimshaw 2019
