love

The Gift – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 32 Comments

He bought it used. It was heavy and solid like home. Soon he began to peel the layers away. It was painted antique green and underneath she remembered a layer of white, then bright orange. She was not sure what the the other colors were but it had been coated and recoated by many who had different preferences. He spent hours cleaning away paint brushed into the crevices and cracks. It was a labor of care to reach the wood grain underneath all of those years. She watched him work off and on knowing he would continue. He told her it would be hers but her doubt piled up with the days. Through the sanding and peeling of hours of evenings. It was taking a long time, so much time and more than he realized it would. After all of that scraping away to bring the beauty to light, she knew that it couldn’t be passed to another, even a daughter that he loved. It wouldn’t be hers now. Not because it was an antique piano, but because of the time it took him to bring it back to life. When he said, “Yes, of course it is yours.” She was surprised by the love of those hours. It remains with her today.

winter through window

gold sunlight gleams in wood grain

warming to the touch

 ©Ali Grimshaw 2021

Haibun Monday at dVerse - Join us.

Unfolding Love – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 47 Comments 
By knowing you,
I see myself in bloom 
now and 90 years wrinkled.
My doubts don’t exist in your eyes.
You see the chipped edges
scars of failed attempts
places worn raw 
as my earned beauty.
You hold the rough
abeyant curves of my puzzle
like a treasure. 
You saw my essence of spirit
gently holding it all up,
a mirror before me,
until I could see,
for myself,
who I am becoming.
 
© Ali Grimshaw 2020

Eugi's Weekly Prompt - Romance
 

Heartbeat – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 8 Comments 
"Choosing to live and love with our whole hearts is an act of defiance. " - Brene Brown

Join me for Galentine's Day, Write Yourself: Self-Love and Poetry Gathering
Saturday, February 13. here - Eventbrite. (Tickets by donation)

One of the many joys of facilitating writing circles is contributing to the journey of others and connecting women from across the globe. 

Renewal Through Poetry: Introductory Writing Circles
February 21, 11:00 am PST register here - Eventbrite. 

"The circle is a very special part of my week. I am inspired by everyone, their thoughts, their writings, their words. I never come away without feeling something deeply or being profoundly touched.  I am amazed at what comes out of the end of my pen." - Nancy

Bashful – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 60 Comments 
a slight alteration
not a full smile
where teeth reveal themselves

just a curled corner of lips lift
your cheek rising upward
winking your eye

those unfamiliar to your face
wouldn't notice the half-smirk
so quickly retreating behind
the coffee mug

 but I saw it as real as sunrise
 and I don't need more
 to know you felt
 joy today

© Ali Grimshaw 2021

dVerse Open Link Night - Come join the fun.

Check the correct box – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 29 Comments 
How we name ourselves keeps us 
separate, collected or behind fences.

What if we lost all labels to the wind?
Started over with a single hello. 

Here is a new and rare being
a species my brain cannot categorize

outside of any box, never encountered 
right before my own human eyes.

How wonder would fill me
with the awe of you.

© Ali Grimshaw 2021

dVerse - Poetics:Connections 
A wonderful community of writers reside on dVerse Poets Pub. Come join in the fun.

Photo of mural taken in Auray, France. 2019

Consider – A Poem for MLK Day – By Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 34 Comments 
Some say, Who am I?
I need to find myself.
I have lost myself.

Some ask, How do I go on?
How do I begin again?
What matters now? 

There are those who 
are living as question marks
and those who refuse punctuation.                 

When your heart burns away,
is cracked to irreparable
or crushed to stillness

is that the end or 
the beginning 
of learning to love?

© Ali Grimshaw 2021

Three quotes from a man who left this world too early, Martin Luther King J. May we remember his words.

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?'”

“At the center of non-violence stands the principle of love.”

Blindsighted – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 28 Comments 
As we stand together
the ocean’s roar a comfort
lullaby of constant.

You squeeze 
my hand. I echo
the motion in return.

Reliable rolling waves,
we count on
when the world is crashing.

© Ali Grimshaw 2017

One breath – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 27 Comments

I want to launch into the air a thousand words of love. Handwritten and in every font, (even the unpopular ones) lines and curves that will rise and carry us forward upon touch, and to accompany these words, send the sounds that bring us alive, like birdsong, a child’s laugh or footsteps echoing toward home. Release them as a million messages to freely be carried by the breezes that reach us all, to land on building tops and crosswalks, to fall in the teacups of the grieving, in the tangled hair of skipping children, to settle on weary parkbench sleepers, cling to the yet delivered news traveling with the sunlight to the next continent, let the words land on the bare hands of the parched and weary like raindrops on the skin of those that need it most.

I pause here to take a breath and now realize you are still listening. How generous of you.

What do you want to launch into today?

I’m listening.

© Ali Grimshaw 2020

Join us for Open Link Night on dVerse

Cee’s B&W Photo Challenge: Outside of Your Home or View – Oregon Coast

Shift – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 14 Comments
Leaves in an Oregon River
absent stood out
on the page of my day,
like sharp yellow highlighter,
a biting bright contrast,
to your slight soft smile.
Remembering our laughter
mixed with 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.