Like spilt milk
later to sour
an immediate response
to cleanse
wasn’t enough.
A whiteness that
blanked out what
we had been
like our love
lost consciousness.
Now after, the hours of it all
we face each other
in anticipation
hold a canvas cleared.
Dip your hand with me
to paint the next.
© Ali Grimshaw 2019
absent stood out
on the page of my day,
like sharp yellow highlighter,
biting bright contrast,
to your slight soft smile.
Remembering our laughter
mixed with the warm sunlight smell
of blackberries, overripe
with the end of this season,
some clinging to the vine.
© Alicia Grimshaw 2019
As we shift to the next, there is a tension of holding on and letting go. I feel this as I experience goodbyes and new places. Sending love to anyone who is saying farewell and transitioning with this season. Let’s welcome in the new colors that arrive with this change.
Where to go to return
to the tranquil, a friend
you used to know so well?
Hours spent creekside
holding rocks, one by one
their colors glow wet with water
slowing your breath with
the simple love for a moment
of just being alive.
© Alicia Grimshaw 2017
why are we so afraid of
the tender, exposure of
inside, gently cradled by
toughness skinned over
unconscious callousness
from days of survival,
thick with not letting
anyone in, to touch
the real, born within us.
© Ali Grimshaw 2019
THE TENDERNESS PROJECT IS AN EXPERIMENT IN RADICAL EMPATHY CURATED BY ROSS GAY AND SHAYLA LAWSON. IT RECOGNIZES THE TENDERNESSES THAT APPEAR IN THE MARGINS AND LIGHTS THESE TINY SPACES.
I notice,
I remember,
yet I have no idea
what you gave for
my freedoms.
I see,
I listen for,
those without,
who don’t
have freedom yet.
I pray,
that we never stop,
reaching toward each other
with open hands.
© Ali Grimshaw 2019
Happy July 4th.
Let’s not let the past stop us from creating the future.
What if I wrote what could not be asked
the inappropriate bold words, or a question
that made you cringe slightly with wonder.
Left it on your desk, scented paper
inside an envelope that you would need to choose
to open or not, wondering who it could be from
unmarked, with just your cursive name penned upon
the front. Leaving you to hesitate with the thrill
of good or bad news to come.
© Ali Grimshaw 2019
