An inner dissection
sections of her heart
thinly unlayered, to find
the magnificence of awe
that used to be part of her.
Faded peak moments mapped
on her skin. Elevations reached
and fallen from while yearning
changed her topography.
Thoughts of who
she could become, still
a proposed expedition.
© Alicia Grimshaw 2019
Can you be
with your own silence?
Walking with yourself
wherever you go
naked
or clothed in words
that warm
or weigh you down.
Will you mirror
a friendly listener
hear your own voice
gently?
© Ali Grimshaw 2019
Shadows in Kauai, Hawaii 2018
Today’s challenge is to write a poem that ends with a question. This poem was inspired by a fellow blogger, Pragalbha’s post. Thank you for the inspiration. I wrote this after reading her words today, “Being With Myself”
She never failed
to float him beyond
the current of his day.
He never resisted
slipping away with her
curved sides just right
perfect in their holding space
arcs to part waves
when he needed release
she took him far from shore
her motor always finely tuned
of that he made sure never to neglect.
© Ali Grimshaw 2019 (Rewrite from 2017)
I’m so excited that it’s NaPoWriMo again. NaPoWriMo is an annual poetry challenge that takes place in April. The idea is to write a poem a day resulting in 30 poems in total. The NaPoWriMo site provides prompts if you want to use them. I have added to this challenge by reading poems every day of the month from several different sources. Click on the icon above to join in.
Unfurl toward the sunlight,
Ali
craters of care
shadow marked attempts
deeply rutted thinking paths
(your footprints alongside mine)
from days of trying again and
our laughter in piles around the room
you are there in all the footsteps
of my mind.
© Ali Grimshaw 2019
“footsteps of the mind” – Tuesday writing challenge at Go Dog Go Cafe
Behind, underneath yet also intertwined
with softly sounded movement of bees
yet not quite a song, of all that generates
thrives for growth beyond survival music.
These background singers of inspired hum
as I branch out toward new sky, consider
a transplant beyond my container
soil in colors my roots have never reached.
© Ali Grimshaw 2019
Photo taken Kauai, Hawaii 2018
With the brokenness
there is a choice
to hear the mirror
or bury that which you won’t face.
Without any proof
I know you can do the hard things.
It is courage coupled with action
that matters after we fall.
Brave has always
lived inside of you,
printed in bold letters.
Step forward
cloaked in courage to
pick up only the pieces that
are worth keeping.
© Ali Grimshaw 2019
Thank you to Amethyst Review for sharing my poem, Threads. If you are a poetry lover please give this site a visit.
Threads
I am
just one
frayed
wound tight
coarsely made
tested by force
twisted resiliency
bound to others
strained with weight
threatened by blades
mended from attention
unequally created companion
equally essential thread
of the human fabric
crafted with care
weakened by wear
the loss of one
compromises
the whole
tapestry
to tear.
Ali Grimshaw is the author of Flashlight Batteries, https://flashlightbatteries.blog/ a poetry blog for those struggling in darkness and tough times. Her poems have been published in Vita Brevis, Poetry Breakfast and Ghost City Review.
Seeing them together
caused my pause
to write a gift for you
on scraps found. My pen
pulled my hand along
(it is braver than I).
It knows how to lay
my heart wide open,
like a prairie to the sky
nowhere to hide
expansive and still,
miles from adequate
for what I wish to give.
© Ali Grimshaw (rewrite 2019)
a time to keep silence near
exhale’s companion
a sound of not needing
to hold on,
open palm invitation
to allow the next
while nestled in cocooned cotton
like snowflakes in your hair
layers of white quiet, an offering
you didn’t have to earn
© Ali Grimshaw 2019
Quadrille for d’Verse – Turn, Turn, Turn
flashlight batteries - Ali Grimshaw 