please in consideration of what won't be created, written or healed where we will work, play and give who won't be fed, sheltered, or freed who won't be loved what won't happen if we don't unless we are at least a bit bothered today © Ali Grimshaw 2021 Come share your Quadrille on dVerse - HERE Napowrimo 2021
Author: Ali Grimshaw
Poetry has arms – Poem by Ali Grimshaw
Poetry has arms to reach beyond borders stretch across isles swim channels of shame while handing our fresh hankies for tears of lost love Poetry has arms to hold, comfort, and allow for all to be felt the sharp, the cut wide open with acceptance Poetry pushes no one away All are welcome through this doorway © Ali Grimshaw 2021 Come write with us. Self-Compassion Through Poetry: Writing Circle Fri, May 7, 2021 10:00 - 11:30 AM PDT Click HERE for more information Let me hold space for your voice.
Someday – Poem by Ali Grimshaw
When I grow up I want to be a river a flow of ease clear and welcoming reflecting forest green. I want to feel the slide and shine over pebbles smooth and freely wandering down the mountainside no obstacles only friends. © Ali Grimshaw 2021 Day 12 of Na/GloPoWriMo. I went rouge with my urge for freedom and didn't follow the prompt.
What the Grieving Seek – Poem by Ali Grimshaw
you believe that saying the right thing will dissolve the pain, that you should know how to ascend the sunken afloat in powerlessness without the words to reach the aggrieved restore their hearts to harmony don’t be swallowed by your lacking the right words never have been what the grieving seek sufficient is whole face listening eyes intent to bridge being ears strong enough to hear without changing the subject and you can do that anyone can make that choice First published on VITA BREVIS PRESS 2018 For those are are grieving today. I send this to you with love.
Wonderment Training – Poem by Ali Grimshaw
walking through fields of bright questions I pick whys and hows, bloom gold awes for consideration wonderment training © Ali Grimshaw 2021 A shadorma (a six-line, 26-syllable poem or stanza) for National Poetry/Global Poetry Writing Month - Day 7. Visit this site for prompts all month long, napowrimo Join me for my next writing circle. Self-Compassion Through Poetry: Writing Circle Tuesday, April 20, 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM (PDT) Register here Photo taken in Munich, Germany 2019.
these blooms like candy cotton appetizing limbs of pink deliciousness always have been reliable unique for sugar coating the sadness of a regular day living blossoms I reach for true in their offering of layered light for satisfying the crave of weightlessness the yearning for lift Perhaps with forgiveness. Maybe with increased observation their magic will prevail. My scavenger hunt continues. © Ali Grimshaw 2021 Day 5 of National Poetry Click HERE for daily prompts Global Poetry Writing Month Today's challenge - to find a poem, and then write a new poem that has the shape of the original, and in which every line starts with the first letter of the corresponding line in the original poem. I chose Wet Spring as my jumping off place. This was a stretch that led to a wonderful escape. Wet Spring The practical castle is cold. All around it the world is a stream bed. A few well-placed openings under the windows let rain weep back outward. The rain is string for wrapping a package no one knows the inside of, they just keep trying to mail it. Perhaps it is licorice. Perhaps it is kindness. The package so large even wetness becomes an umbrella. by Jane Hirshfield
While wandering – Poem by Ali Grimshaw
"Without poetry, we lose our way." - Joy Harjo the future of my day is coming from where yours has already taken a seat while I wake, you are closing the book to rest your head in a country covered by stars Here on this pondering path of forest synchronized with the slow passing of light this fern comnunity reaches toward many more than any one person can see and one of them is me a gathering of condolences for this time of separation, green fronds reach to surround me in a forest embrace our fiddlehead hearts, together while apart your voice sits with me, uncurling I am moss damp with missing you © Ali Grimshaw 2021 Join a welcome community of poets at dVerse for Open Link Night - HERE 30 Ways to Celebrate the 25th Annual National Poetry Month Day 3 of National Poetry & Global Poetry Writing Month
I used to hold his hand – Poem by Ali Grimshaw
Your separation started with a small knot, then the winding began. Strings of storybooks, twined through nights and days of countless fresh starts, repeating circles. The looping of stories wound through our shared days. Up and down on the life school rollercoaster, back when I used to hold your hand. Our faces in the wind a side by side scream of surprise moments you reached out, adding to yourself adding another layer of becoming. While some saw mangled routes and loose ends I envied your brave expanding, overlapping leaps of curiosity to solidify your center. Now you roll down new streets with layers of perseverance over boyish charm a masterpiece touching lives I will never meet. I hope you never stop winding over that small knot, tied while I watched. © Ali Grimshaw 2021 This poem is dedicated to my two amazing sons. I am grateful to be your mother. dVerse Open Link Night - Join a welcoming community of poets HERE.
Poems from the Circle
Where to Write From You might think that to be a poet you must have a way with words You can keep thinking that more room for me You might think you must reach way down in the weeds pulling out muddy roots from your sodden brain or recall in detail places of distinction You might think you must go heart searching to find phenomenal fodder for verse or have personal connections with the waves, the sun, the moon and the stars There are those who have done that But really you might be content to write frilly froth of fabled fellows Or maybe, just maybe you’ll surprise yourself, crawl down deep like an a spelunking explorer to places in yourself you haven’t been or yet even noticed By Lilli Ann Carey I am grateful for Lilli Ann's permission to share her poem from a recent writing circle. Writing together provides a mirror for us to process life in a safe place. Each of us has words that matter. Within the writing circle we nourish them. Curious? Email met at coaching@aligrimshaw.com
The Reasons
I love the Oregon Coast. This photo is from my most recent visit. It is often while walking down the beach that my mind travels off on inspirational tangents. I have been thinking a lot in the past year about the reasons that we give after something has happened. Those seeds grew into a poem. This poem, The Reasons, is up on Visual Verse where each month they supply a compelling image and invite writers – published or unpublished – to submit a piece in response. There are so many wonderful writings this month. I encourage you to head over there for some entertaining reading. Consider giving the writing challenge a try next month. Here's the link, Visual Verse Thank you to Visual Verse for sharing my voice.
