Author: Ali Grimshaw

Exiting The Maze

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 6 Comments

She could think about something else

a distraction from the pain

another new form of an old approach,

all temporary fixes,

that will return her to the same spot in the maze.

Unfortunately familiar torment.

Hands clenched to aching,

nails biting skin,

jaw clenched.

Her body’s defiance to the status quo.

Suffering unnoticed by a hurried world.

“Not this time.” She whispers. “This time

I will make my own exit.”

© Alicia Grimshaw 2016

 

Below 32 Degrees

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 6 Comments

The quiet between us

like floating icebergs

tongues frostbit into stillness

is it that we have forgotten what to say

misplaced our formula to speak,

a habitual slow retreat to safety?

“What are you thinking about?”

“Nothing.”

I am uncertain how to start the

defrost cycle.

© Ali Grimshaw

 

 

Dirty Knees

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 9 Comments

image

When she fell

in her pain she was grateful,

to all those along the way who

patiently taught her how to rise to her feet.

showed her how to dust off,

heal the wounds,

start again.

After years of practice

she wasn’t afraid of falling anymore.

Dirty knees were honorable.

© Ali Grimshaw 2016

 

 

 

Replay

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 10 Comments

Before I walk away,

returning to a new season of my life,

let’s rewind this journey for one

last view. The thrills, near misses,

and countless conversations melted together,

making me the true color I have become.

Wherever I am

is your home

to come back to.

© Alicia Grimshaw

The Aha

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 5 Comments

Once balanced on their ends

the squares fall, one nudging the other.

A tumbling of memories,

replaying like a film made from still pictures.

held together by a plot that used to make sense.

Now I hold a new appreciation for the structure

that held them in place for  years. The straining sides

that were keeping order, now dissolved,

layers becoming a ferris wheel of change

arriving as a new shape on the floor.

© Ali Grimshaw