The strength you possess
growing just where you landed
nourished by sparse light
no gardener to tend you
pushing through the cracks
away from your roots
toward warmth of another
to be seen.
© Ali Grimshaw
Persistence
inspiration
The Answer
Now is not the time for tomorrow’s thinking.
Living for when I get there and happiness lands.
Someday solutions for formulaic bliss.
A machine of future making.
Now, is life.
Remove the heavy hat of suffering.
Hang up the wool coat that has been passed down to you.
Slip off the leaden shoes denying your right to skip.
Let your toes feel the mud between them.
Hear the sounds in this space.
Just be,
be your own answer.
© Ali Grimshaw
Within Each of US
Standing among violent shouting,
Angry vibrations pounding near.
Shuddering as the volume increases.
A roar of hate that can consume.
Inward I listen.
As the noise recedes,
I follow my breath
to a humming heart.
Steady in its love.
It walks where I walk.
It sleeps where I sleep.
Noise of the world cannot drown its pulse,
this calming cadence.
Internal rhythm.
Strength drawn from all that lives
lies inside me
and all beings.
Waiting to be heard.
© Ali Grimshaw
Bursting to Life
After what seems like forever darkness
the light comes back again
each bud seeking warmth
layers begin to open
not because they were told, “It is time.”
facing the sun… their hearts knew.
© Alicia Grimshaw 2016
Your Flame
Huddled with survival,
dying coals radiate little warmth.
walk toward that which lights your fire.
fuel the love light inside yourself.
When the wind blows and blows fiercely.
Your glowing flame will remain.
Untouchable.
© Ali Grimshaw
Learning to Dive
One day I finally knew that I could swim
in the blue of the sky.
That I was as strong as I said I was.
That my fears were teachers made just for me.
That there would always be cracks to slip through
and times of trembling.
Then I stood next to the lake,
a mirror of the blue sky,
and dove into its
reflection.
By Ali Grimshaw
flashlight batteries - Ali Grimshaw 