I am a lighthouse who sometimes 
has a broken bulb.

I fear for the ships that are navigating 
dark shorelines without my beam.

I hold responsibility for safe passage 
while boats toss hand to hand by a storm. 

I appreciate you noticing my blackened filament
seeing my burnt days without judgment

offering a replacement orb to restore my beacon.

I return to rusting hulls along the shoreline with my light
watch the shadows change their appearances.

I wonder what difference my listening light
could have made in their journey.

Yet, losing our way is also how we find each other.

In darkness, trust your heartbeat navigator 
the light is there, and you will find it.

© Ali Grimshaw 2026


Please join a welcoming group of poets at dVerse Poets Pub. It is Open Link Night. Share one poem of your own HERE.

Please join us for our first LIVE session of 2026 on Saturday, January 17th, from 10 to 11 AM EST.
Click on the Google Meet link below to join us with audio and video:

https://meet.google.com/ens-tohx-wjq 

Come sit in on our LIVE (video and audio) session. Read aloud a poem of your choosing, join in the informal conversation OR simply sit in and listen. We always have people from around the globe, all speaking in English.