Jumping into August – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

August 2, 2021August 2, 2021 ~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 37 Comments

Dipping skinny-style, screaming out in glee, we entered the river to revive. Jumping away from the heated August afternoon only to return to the warm rocks and bask like turtles. Then followed hours of our rinse and repeat cycle as sunlight slid down the river. Summer freedom was its own kind of happy. Without the constraints of parents or the weight of planning for the future to come. We flew through the air trusting the pools to welcome us with a generosity that had held so many before our time. There were no thoughts of tomorrow.

bubbled free
water nymphs laze
summertide

©Ali Grimshaw 2021

Join a welcoming community of poets at dVerse for Haibun Monday, HERE

Learning to Dive

January 20, 2019January 21, 2019 ~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 25 Comments

One day I finally knew that I could swim
in the blue of the sky.

That I was as strong as my declaration.
My fears, teachers made just for me.

That there would always be cracks to slip through
times of trembling, shaken awake to fall again.

Then I stood next to the lake,
a mirror of blue sky wholeness,
arms wide with acceptance

I, the problem and solution

dove into

reflection of release.

Photo taken on a family trip to Varenna, Italy 2016

Visiting With Chaos – a poem by Ali Grimshaw

October 12, 2018 ~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 13 Comments

Spills splattered the walls.

Counters filled with clutter,

multiple piles creating a new geography in the room.

There is a relief to cleaning it all away.

Everything in order. Repair and replace.

The seduction of a new cycle, sparkling clean.

Free from marks of history.

What if we could sit with Chaos

for just a little minute?

Feel the wind in our ears.

Hearing her secrets of cleverness.

To soak in the learning of this undone space.

Before an opportunity is erased.

A past disinfected before she can author her story

from which the plot differs from

perpetual duplicating.

First published on Vita Brevis

Lull – a poem by Ali Grimshaw

October 6, 2018October 12, 2018 ~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 20 Comments

fullsizeoutput_947

Leaves play tag in the breeze
as cars chase green lights.
I am the only stillness
in the city this hour.

Living without permission
no need to ask, “Am I allowed?”
The leaves don’t ask to dance
down the cracked sidewalk.

I grant myself this moment
this sunlight soak before
winter darkness.

Ripe – a poem by Ali Grimshaw

September 15, 2018October 12, 2018 ~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 42 Comments

A27CB7AA-60FD-46C0-B95C-4AD8BDA55D12

organic prizes tended affectionately

primed by summer’s passionate heat and BB King’s blues

quenching warmth, a gathering of sunlight kisses

red ripe to tango with your tongue and mine

slip into my backyard to delight in this tender flesh

this ready to please moment soon closed for the season.

dVerse Poetry Pub

42754D3D-2543-4C3A-90EE-833330966830

Growth Spurt

August 24, 2018 ~ 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.

dVerse Open Link Night #226

Seasonal Departure

June 22, 2018June 22, 2018 ~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 19 Comments

At the station, the train of life only pauses

our illusion of control blankets nature’s causes.

Nights to days shift, and the engineer steers

rhythm of the planet moves through the years.

Cycle of no endings, wheels freely spin

untouchable by human error, solstice arrives again.

Couplets for the Solstice – dVerse poetry challenge

Sunday afternoon meditation in the backyard

May 28, 2018 ~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 33 Comments

Ok, breathe

ease back in the chair.

Breathe. Ahh. Blue sky in my backyard.

Oh no. Not leaf blower man.

I thought he moved.

Breathe. Let it all go. You are free.

See? It stopped. Listen to the birds.

Close your eyes.

Breathe.

What? Not again? This is noise pollution!

Slow. Feel your body in this space.

Who invented this *&%$# thing?

What ever happened to my silent friend, The Rake?

Breathe. Let it go.

This too shall pass.

Remember the teacher said find calm within chaos,

Breathe. I bet he didn’t have leaf blower man

nextdoor.

Inhale.

Exhale.

For the Thursday d’Verse challenge. My first contrapuntal poem. Contrapuntal are poems that intertwine two (or more) separate poems into a single composition.