Never had you loved anyone more
than the one in the bright red raincoat
so visible on the beach of haze.
Like a masterful painting
he drew your eyes in
a beacon of clarity
when the tide of life
got too high.
© Ali Grimshaw 2019
Pic and a Word Challenge- Colour
among fallen plaster of
disrepair, wrinkles of error
some think irredeemable
your locked layers of reasons
defenses built room by room
the unkissable past revealed
you wait for the wrecking ball
Yet I hear a heartbeat not broken
beyond salvage
your pulse sings strong.
© Ali Grimshaw (rewrite) 2019
Photo taken in Venice, Italy
Life’s roar a whisper
Country road curves with no plan
Afternoon of you.
© Alicia Grimshaw 2019
Beside me, your mummers begin
repetition of words to form
a solid, something to hold on to.
As you hammer a picture in sound,
letters arrange in audible order
to hear who you are.
To speak building blocks, stack phrases
scaffold words of steel
structures to withstand tomorrow.
I am silent witness
to the rebuilding of yourself.
© Alicia Grimshaw 2019
“The most visible creators are those artists whose medium is life itself. The ones who express the inexpressible ~ without brush, hammer, clay, or guitar. They neither paint nor sculpt. Their medium is simply being. Whatever their presence touches has increased life. They see, but don’t have to draw… Because they are the artists of being alive… – Donna J. Stone
Overwhelm has taken
up residence
in your brain again?
You wrote the rental
agreement, chose
the limits.
Remember, you
can evict it.
© Ali Grimshaw 2019
“So here are a few of the upcoming books of poetry I’m most excited about, books that are keeping me from losing hope, books that remind me that, even as America is at its most divided, its language is about synthesis, about coming together, about dissimilar things that form a gorgeous and powerful whole. These books are angry, they’re afraid, they’re grieving and hoping; so am I. I’m grateful for their company.”
The power of poetry. You can’t help but want to see this list.
One day I finally knew that I could swim
in the blue of the sky.
That I was as strong as my declaration.
My fears, teachers made just for me.
That there would always be cracks to slip through
times of trembling, shaken awake to fall again.
Then I stood next to the lake,
a mirror of blue sky wholeness,
arms wide with acceptance
I, the problem and solution
dove into
reflection of release.
© Alicia Grimshaw 2019 (rewrite of 2017 poem)
Photo taken on a family trip to Varenna, Italy 2016
