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.
This photo was taken on the Oregon Coast near Coos Bay.
flashlight batteries - Ali Grimshaw 
“I appreciate you noticing my blackened filament
seeing my burnt days without judgment”
I think this is what we all long for.
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Melissa, thank you for reflecting back. I think so too.
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So many ways to read this wonderful poem…I’ve read it several times now. The guilt one can feel for making a mistake and not leading in the correct way, on whatever action has led to a sad or difficult situation. Or the person who is trying so hard to do the right thing…to light the way for others. Or a country without a strong light in the leadership role, leading the country in safety, following laws, inspiring with its beacon.A wonderful poem. Most importantly, I love the way it ends in affirmation…however one is responding to the words, the affirmation is there in the end: the light is there – you will find it.
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Lillian, thank you for reflecting back the many ways you read this poem. What a gift.
Hope is a choice, hope is an action, hope is a belief that love is stronger than any other force. It is with this hope that I wrote the ending.
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brilliant
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Thank you for reading. My heart is breaking over and over and … yet my heartbeat navigator is strong.
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Oh my goodness, I am so blown away with the power of this poem. A lighthouse with a dimmed light; a ship without its rudder; how do we navigate? There will always be some solution along the way for all of us. Continue to share your beautiful words. We all need them right now. HUGS! Fredda
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Fredda, you have no idea how much your feedback means to me. I’ve been struggling to write and share. Thank you for reflecting back what you received in my words. Sending you a huge hug.
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