3 Good Things – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 12 Comments 
They don't need to be your favorite one.
You don't need to justify them to anyone.

One could arrive before getting out of bed 
or a memory that brings warmth.

One could be a warm shower, the relief of crying 
or standing under a clear sky.

One could be a deep breath, a complete filling of lungs 
or the priviledge of not know what time it is.

A window to a neighbor who grow flowers
or someone who listens when your words stumble. 

Birdsong mornings, soft landings of wooded paths 
freedom to choose, relief of laughter, steady rib bones

to protect a still beating heart.

There are always 3 good things
if you choose them

they are yours
to hold.

©Ali Grimshaw 2022

During the first year of the pandemic I began to paint rocks that said, "3 good things." I left them randomly around my neighborhood as I walked and ran. My intention was to remind myself and those around me to think of "3 good things" in their day. I began to text friends and family asking them to share their "3 good things." Somewhere along the way I forgot about this action. I stopped doing it. Finding this photo today reminded me how simple and rewarding this was. And I am choosing to begin again. If you feel inspired please share your "3 good things" with me.

I’ve been granted a spell of wandering – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 43 Comments 
no one will ever know what you gave

the number of times
you've grown a new heart
after donating the last one

sit a spell with the map
of your heartlife

claim your mountains
distance
growth vistas

tape more wilderness down
you're still alive

©Ali Grimshaw 2022

Quadrille #154 "Casting a spell
Come join a welcoming community 
of poets on d'Verse - HERE

Taking Flight – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 25 Comments 
Transitions are in the air... some are leaving the nest for flight. 

As you join the others
a new word grows inside me,

a tight bundled joypain sits within
my chest cracking open to release 

the scent of baby powered damp hair

for the many practiced days have passed
the next migration is a solo flight.

Your sturdy shoulders of readiness 
experimental charm accompanied with grin

will be a gift many will appreciate.

Your graduation to come 
is a forced exhale and I breathe in 

the flight to come.

Shake off the illusion, you were never 
really mine from the start. 

You have always belonged to to the world.

I was always ever the warm nest
from which you would someday fly.

©Ali Grimshaw 2022

Join a welcoming community for Open Link Night at dVerse. HERE

Dedicated to all parents of graduates.  Yes, part of your heart is stepping out into the world to touch the lives of others. Let it go. Part of it will stay with you forever. What a privilege to experience this amazing journey of expanding love. Congratulations.

My light is shining

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 14 Comments

“A river no more begins at its source

than a story begins with the first page.“

– Once Upon A River

I am honored to have two new poems included in the anthology Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women. This highly anticipated anthology, edited by Gabriela Marie Milton (Short Prose) and published by Ingrid Wilson (Experiments in Fiction), debuts in early June 2022. Thank you so much, Gabriela and Ingrid, for all your efforts to bring these poems of strength to the world. I am excited to hold them in my hands.

Sipping – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 25 Comments 
she didn't need to know how to pronounce the name
of what grew before her delicately vivid

she didn't need to understand how it pollinated
or the temperatures it withstood last winter

she didn't need to know why it arrived 
who brought it from afar or how it survived

her eyes saw the magenta magnificence
drank in the sweet joy of bloom in a cup

tasted the miniture petals
an elixer of revival

©Ali Grimshaw 2022

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at dVerse Poet's Pub HERE

Lessons from a Dogwood – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 45 Comments 
"Nature does not hurry
yet everything is accomplished."
-Lao Tzu

a flower
can be a poem 
all by itself

color replacing gray
newsroom days

each petal, lined hues
of good news

the glory of opening
ourselves 
to live again

©Ali Grimshaw 2022

Covid finnally caught me and I am learning 
how to accept it as an uninvited guest. 
Sending you wishes for wellness.

Join me at earthweal 
this week: Lessons from the Wild

Photo taken on one of my neighborhood walks.

5 Answers to the Same Question – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 15 Comments 
1. Ease your body into 
a warm bath, stay long enough 
to forget why its ending and how
time ever mattered.

2. Get your shovel
plant your tears along with faith
flower seeds for tomorrow's
sky brightening.

3. Climb to the roof, listen for
birds from a different perspective
notice the variation in song
brings clearer thoughts.

4. Wander while feeling 
solid ground, allow disappointment 
to flee your swinging arms
until lightness of hope arrives.

5. Leave yourself behind
the one that didn't believe
your worth. Buy yourself
colored pencils, new sneakers.

©Ali Grimshaw 2022

For the 18th day of Na/GloPoWriMo 
- “Five Answers to the Same Question.” 

Photo taken in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Welcome – Poem By Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 33 Comments 
I stumbled upon this tree and she had much to share
"I'm twisted and far from upright but that won't stop me

from blue sky mornings, feeling the sun warm each layer
of my thick skin muffling me from the critics of all things

that don't look quite straight. Let the rain drip down 
your skin. What? You say you haven't stood naked in the rain?

You haven't lived until you've felt singular drops land cool
one, then another to awaken aliveness once lost to you.

Stick with me kid. There's no reason to return to the city.
Let me see your Tree Pose. Beautiful! Welcome to the grove."

©Ali Grimshaw 2022

For day 13 of Na/GloPoWriMo. Everything is going to be amazing.

Join us for dVerse Poets' Pub Open LInk Night - HERE

Photo taken in the desert outside of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. 
What a magical experience to meet this grandmother tree.

Topsy-turvy – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 19 Comments 
When green is stop
and red is go
yellow gets confused

and we collapse
into a dogpiled 
intersection
a puddle of hilarity

drippings of our whitewashed
cityscape, flowers bowed
or buried
a spot of fallen yellow


©Ali Grimshaw 2022
School is closed today, April 11, because of a snowstorm. What?! The world feels topsi-turvy.