courage

Studying the Landscape – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 12 Comments

“The storm’s ravages had not only opened her eyes, but her heart and mind as well. What mattered was the present moment. The people she was with. She may never be fully free of the past, and the future might bring more struggle. But the here and now wasn’t a place to hide. It was hers to live.”

– from The Medicine Woman of Galveston by Amanda Skenandore

Distant views calmed her mind
these cliffs, twisted roads, rugged mountains were relatable.

A smooth life could not create this kind of beauty

and once again nature was teaching her how to navigate sorrows.

What remains an obstacle may depend on the point from which she observed the landscape.

Photo taken at Colorado National Monument 2024.

Today in the U.S. we honor Martin Luther King, Jr., and in his honor, I am reflecting on perseverance.

She Stood for Others – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 22 Comments
“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” – Winston Churchill

she stood for listening
overcoming discouragement
and air that never burned your nostrils

she led by digging weeds with you
side-by-side overheated or drenched.

she never let fear ride in the front seat

and forever reminded me
the sun’s position
changes everyone’s shadow
everyone’s

©Ali Grimshaw 2021

Quadrille Monday on dVerse Poets Pub – Join a friendly group of poets HERE

Photo taken on a family trip to NYC. I just love this mural.

Renewal Through Poetry: Writing Circle

Mon, Aug 23, 2021 4:00 PM PDT – Register HERE

Purgation – Poem By Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 33 Comments

“Poetry offers the world something that’s small enough to carry close to your heart, and big enough to carry all of the ordinary things that can be encompassed in any one day.” — Pádraig Ó Tuama

Purgation

shame sweeping
disinfecting disappointment
vacuuming deeply the corners
of deliberately lost memories

I open one eye, hesitant
to take a look 
then squint until
rooted in my intention

It's possible there is
no monster of madness
in the closed cupboard of the past
just dust bunnies multiplying

and the purgation continues.

©Ali Grimshaw 2021

dVerse Open Link Night - Join a welcoming community of poets HERE.

Theory of the Undaunted

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 23 Comments 
hold spontaneity in one hand
hold courage in the other

after hesitation kisses you goodbye
free fall into your future

let possibility
fully fill your lungs

float untethered, without
holding your breath

until the shore
disrobes the fog

then swim with the passion
of another year

you never thought
you would have.

© Ali Grimshaw 2019

The purpose of mistakes

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 57 Comments 
You must lose things
to find them.
Rip to repair, slip
to find out,
who you return as.

Tumble through trials
be torn away
from the known
to evolve stronger.

You must reach 
your own hand
be burned unjustly
to hear my scar's story.

© Ali Grimshaw 2020

dVerse Poets Pub - Quadrille #105 "Slip"

End of the Rope – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 21 Comments

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The rope winds gently around my waist,
twisted, smoothly strong by years of mistakes,
trying again, doubt and wondering how.

Thick with memories of others who
believed with the strength of solid ground.
Believed that all earthquakes eventually stop shaking.
Believed in soil’s ability to grow what we need next.

The end of this rope was handed to me long ago.
A generous lifeline offered for free
to keep me on the planet.

Now I look down at the rope in my calloused hands,
threads of the millions, an explosion of frayed ends,
their forgivings, endurance,
the woven learnings of my ancestors.

The rope loops back and around me,
over and over,
then off into the distance.

I don’t need to see the end now
to trust it is anchored deeply somehow.

© Ali Grimshaw 2020

Inspired by William Stafford’s poem “The Way It Is”

dVerse – Final Couplet Prompt

Photo taken in on my last trip, Château de Suscinio in France.

Smoke Signals

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 14 Comments

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I woke to the burning,

smoked letters across wide sky
that only we could decode.

The weight of getting it right,

to know their secrets, before pierced sunlight
deemed them unreadable.

I, just one of many, leaders as mountains
whose waters are running dry.

Heads bare, exposed to weather’s ruling.

© Ali Grimshaw 2019

dVerse Poets Pub – Secrets

Theory of the Undaunted – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 46 Comments

hold spontaneity in one hand
hold courage in the other

after hesitation kisses you goodbye
jump into your future

let possibility
fully fill your lungs

float untethered, without
holding your breath

until the shore
disrobes the fog

then swim with the passion
of another year
you never thought
you would have.

© Ali Grimshaw 2019

d’Verse Poets Pub – Theories of Everything

The photo was taken in Portland, Oregon – Inspiring quote by Brene Brown

Growth Spurt

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 35 Comments

In the dark kitchen while all lay asleep
I stood shorter than the countertop
determined to throw away my blanket of comfort
self worn to soft holding of me.

The mouth of the garbage can
that lived under the sink
hungry for layers of softness
swallowed them down easily.

My four year old self threw away weakness
like an explorer sailing to uncharted seas
I declared myself ready for the mystery of the grown up.

Without need for a fall back into security
how sure I was of my power to leave the shore
of my dearly loved comfort layer.

Where did the urgency come from
to stop leaning
depending on
go it alone without reliance?

Years later in my cold bed determined and proud
still I wonder why I needed to prove my toughness
hurry away from childhood.

© Alicia Grimshaw 2018

dVerse Open Link Night #226

The Gift of Chaos

Quote ~ ~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 11 Comments

Enlight22

With all that is currently happening in the U.S. and the world, I feel the need to reshare this poem, Visiting With Chaos.There is an opportunity in the messiness of life. Will we choose to be loving learners or give up to fear?

Thank you to Vita Brevis, The Modern Poetry Magazine for publishing my poem. Click on the link to read it. – Visiting With Chaos

Sending love and a reminder that you are not alone.

Ali