The Gift of Goodbye – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 14 Comments 

I'll miss you, he said.

3 words that land large within me.
I let them soak inward
pausing, to embrace this moment.

I'll miss you, he said.

Within these words I hear.
      I noticed you while you were here.
      I have felt your presence.
      You mattered,
      a space will be left here after you have gone.

I'll miss you, he said.

How wonderful to be able to hear these words, 
words I didn't know how to hear
before

tears on my smiling face.

© Ali Grimshaw 2023

Photo taken on my journey to France, 2019.

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There Is A Time, A Time To Flap Your Wings And A Time To Glide -Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 8 Comments 
“Let's be in awe
which doesn't mean
anything but the courage
to gape like fish at the surface
breaking around our mouths
as we meet the air.”
― Mark Nepo

release yourself
to the sky
feel the lift 

let your weary weight trust 
in the invisible 
courage of currents 

surf soaring free 
up, over and through
this unexpected windscape

surrender your need 
to know
to resolve
to figure it out 

arms wide, in full float
with the faith of a bird
that doesn't remember
a day without flight
or a time of being grounded

© Ali Grimshaw 2023

Purposeful Pause – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 10 Comments 
when will the subtle 
silent, shadows of sureity
be noticed in your day

will your eyes always be drawn away
suduced into following flash floresent
the orange-red of fake fire
immediate over postponed desire

will you try on the bluegreen lined in lime
a cool energy alternative 
worthy of afternoon considerations 

oh, I understand more than you know
this would require stopping
and
you don't have time for that

© Ali Grimshaw 2023

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Magic to Come – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 14 Comments 

a gathering of cells
multiplying magnificent

a seed inside 
one breathing being 
and no one even knew

that you had begun
arriving

small magic 
happening inside the womb 

she went about her day 
hanging laundry
in her quiet way

while the message of you 
grew

© Ali Grimshaw 2021

Whether you are a mother or not I wish you a Happy Mother's Day 
in celebration of all mother's around the world. 
Thank you for what you give and gave.

Just Because – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 19 Comments

“Just Because,” a poem I wrote in celebration of a life teaching, has been published on MasticadoresUsa. Thank you to the editor, Barbara Leonhard for giving it a home. I hope my words will inspire others to consider stepping into the field of education. 

“Just Because” 

I teach them
about the magic eraser of fresh starts
far more valuable than double-digit multiplication
or how to identify an adverb.

You can read the full poem HERE

Planting a tree with my 5th graders back in 1994.

Revolutionary – A Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 25 Comments

“Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart.”
― Corrie Ten Boom

a revolution of forgiveness
began echoing across

gently lit faces gathered
in the town square

hushed quietude for the promises
made together

then an overthrow
of rioting apologies

collapsed into laughter

leaving behind
their winter battlecoats of blame

they left warmer
arm in arm

© Alicia Grimshaw 2023

Quadrille #174: You say you want a revolution
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Photo taken in Vannes, France.

Arrival – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 19 Comments 

"Happiness held is the seed. Happiness shared is the flower."
-John Harrigan

what sweet relief to witness
the majesty of bloom on blue
background bright with multiple

openings of pinks possible 
a sigh of cold escapes me, finally
evidence of arrival in the air

I smell aliveness and
again, I have survived winter

© Alicia Grimshaw 2023
Photo taken this afternoon in Portland, Oregon.
Just a regular walk.

H2O – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 16 Comments 

water is love

with spoiled sleep 
a handful of sand between the sheets
you wake up thirsty

luckily you're 10 steps 
from a faucet
from the sound of life filling a cup
tasting your beginnings

rain continues in Portland, Oregon 
while citizens dream dry skies

drought continues in Ethiopia
while 24 million cry for water

love isn't always water
sometimes love is listening longer than
you have before
especially when you think you already know 
pushing your ego aside to make room 
for hearing
free like the bubbler on the street corner

giving water to an urban camper is kind
but could be a solution to a problem
that doesn't exist
no necesito agua

"I always leave the faucet running."
how lucky to be ignorant
how unlucky to not know the smell of drought
when water tastes of life

determined tulips of hope whisper to her
she tethers huge rainclouds to her belt
walks her way to the parched

the future hasn't happened yet
anything is still possible

like the yellow umbrella leaning
next to the open door
suggests sunlight in raindrops

© Alicia Grimshaw 2023
Photo taken on one of Portland's classic 
summer bike rides. Pedalpalooza! 

Inspired by National Poetry Writing Month's 
writing prompt for today
"Twenty Little Poetry Projects”
See all the prompts HERE

Promises – Poem By Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 9 Comments 
moleclues of motion 
have never known the word obstacle

green going with the flow
happily not seeking separation

a sorrowful lament or joyous naming of aliveness
birthed from the diaphram

like eyes from above emulating possibility
of sight through darkness

and they continued to create, even when
they couldn't feel hope 

beating the odds
one heartbeat at a time


Photo taken in Portugal 2017.

Day 2 of National Poetry Writing Month

Check out the prompts HERE.

The questions I chose to ponder were: What is a river?

What is seaweed? What is song? What is an owl? What is a miracle?

Morning Forecast – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 20 Comments 

The wordclouds hover above
to make a shadow on my morning.

Looking up I wonder, how am I to decipher
which are fact or which are fiction?

Layered marks of truth and dare
like a novel netted weather pattern

and I am no meterologist,
just someone looking

for a small clearing in the sky.

© Alicia Grimshaw 2023

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