love

Sky View – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 22 Comments 










If we reject who we are
bent feathers
flawed and perfect as a sparrow

we will lose the chance to know
what it means to fly with love

to know its power of lift
to feel it under our wings
to rest on its currents 

letting us soar without effort
until we are restored 
ready for the next journey skyward

when we have lost our belief in flight
we don't need to learn how to fly
just remember 

we were born knowing how

©Ali Grimshaw 2021


I was inspired to write this morning after listening to Mary Oliver read her poem. Click on this link to listen to her. 
 - Mary Oliver: I Happened to be Standing

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Photo of the Columbia River Gorge, Oregon 2021.





			

			
						

	


				
					


				
					


	

			
How I Knew – Poem by Ali Grimshaw
		

				

						 ~ Ali Grimshaw			 ~ 37 Comments					

				

		






This tastes like the memory
of that simmering summer day.

I held a buttercup flower
under your chin, declaring
with the yellow glow of your skin,

"You like butter."

When you said, "Let me try,"

I knew we would be friends.

You were another
who wanted to see 
the colors for herself.

©Ali Grimshaw 2021

For Eugenia's prompt - Happiness

Give yourself space to let go 
Give yourself time to listen inward
Give yourself freedom to be

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For Shelby – Poem by Ali Grimshaw
		

				

						 ~ Ali Grimshaw			 ~ 38 Comments					

				

		






"All you have to do is write one true sentence.
Write the truest sentence that you know."
― Ernest Hemingway

round and wound snugly tight
we wrapped you 
with pockets of air 
to let the cold hurt breathe
before exhaling it with the laughter 

each small stitch a holding
of our unraveled hearts 
circled colors hitched secure
with homemade memory patterns 
our shared stories under stars

love appliqued for the winter months
loops small and strong to hold your weight in the wind
to keep your dreams collectively connected
securely anointed with our goodbye tears
tucked in tight for all nights

you will never be left
outside this handwoven
circle of arms

in each departing hand
a yarn of length kept warm
to remember you
in tomorrow's pocket

©Ali Grimshaw 2021

Dedicated to Shelby Case, reporter, writer and friend.

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Photo take in Bellingham, WA.

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Snapshot – Poem By Ali Grimshaw
		

				

						 ~ Ali Grimshaw			 ~ 60 Comments					

				

		

“Beautiful things don’t ask for attention.” 
– The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, 2013 –





your arms around me
encircled together
heart to heart

someday I will touch a photo
this moment's embrace
replaying this day

until then
I am noticing the feeling
while I still have you near

I am memorizing the shape
of holding you
holding me

©Ali Grimshaw 2021

Photo of my son and I on my birthday 2020. 

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Unexpected joy – Poem by Ali Grimshaw
		

				

						 ~ Ali Grimshaw			 ~ 53 Comments					

				

		

a gathering of cells
multiplying magnificent

a seed inside 
breathing being 
and no one even knew

that you had begun
arriving, 

small magic 
happening inside the womb 

she went about her day 
hanging laundry
in her quiet way

while the message of you 
grew


© Ali Grimshaw 2021

An early Mother's Day poem.

Quadrille Monday on dVerse

			

	


				
					


	

			
What the Grieving Seek – Poem by Ali Grimshaw
		

				

						 ~ Ali Grimshaw			 ~ 24 Comments					

				

		

you believe that saying the right thing
will dissolve the pain, that you should
know how to ascend the sunken

afloat in powerlessness without
the words to reach the aggrieved
restore their hearts to harmony

don’t be swallowed by your lacking
the right words never have been
what the grieving seek

sufficient is whole face listening
eyes intent to bridge being
ears strong enough to hear
without changing the subject

and you can do that
anyone can
make that choice

First published on VITA BREVIS PRESS 2018


For those are are grieving today. I send this to you with love.





			

	


				
					


	

			
While wandering – Poem by Ali Grimshaw
		

				

						 ~ Ali Grimshaw			 ~ 30 Comments					

				

		






"Without poetry, we lose our way." - Joy Harjo


the future of my day is coming from 
where yours has already taken a seat

while I wake, you are closing the book 
to rest your head in a country covered by stars

Here on this pondering path of forest
synchronized with the slow passing of light
this fern comnunity reaches toward many 

more than any one person can see
and one of them is me

a gathering of condolences for this 
time of separation, green fronds reach
to surround me in a forest embrace

our fiddlehead hearts, 
together while apart

your voice sits with me, uncurling
I am moss damp with missing you

© Ali Grimshaw 2021

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30 Ways to Celebrate the 25th Annual National Poetry Month
Day 3 of National Poetry & Global Poetry Writing Month

			

	


				
					


	

			
I used to hold his hand – Poem by Ali Grimshaw
		

				

						 ~ Ali Grimshaw			 ~ 42 Comments					

				

		






Your separation started with a small knot, 
then the winding began.

Strings of storybooks, twined through nights
and days of countless fresh starts, repeating circles.

The looping of stories wound through our shared days. Up and down 
on the life school rollercoaster, back when I used to hold your hand.

Our faces in the wind a side by side scream of surprise
moments you reached out, adding to yourself
adding another layer of becoming.

While some saw mangled routes and loose ends 
I envied your brave expanding, overlapping leaps 
of curiosity to solidify your center.

Now you roll down new streets
with layers of perseverance over boyish charm
a masterpiece touching lives I will never meet.

I hope you never stop winding over that small knot,
tied while I watched.

© Ali Grimshaw 2021

This poem is dedicated to my two amazing sons. I am grateful to be your mother.

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