Belonging – Poem by Ali Grimshaw
love
Anticipation of beginning again
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
Shifting – Poem by Ali Grimshaw
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.
Returning
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
Tender – Poem by Ali Grimshaw
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.
Tandem – Poem by Ali Grimshaw
Head down, back bent
climbing back into yourself
fear perspires on your forehead.
climbing back into yourself
fear perspires on your forehead.
Looks like you could use a lift.
Travel forward with me
I will steer for awhile.
You can coast.
Travel forward with me
I will steer for awhile.
You can coast.
I will pedal out the questions.
You can consider answers.
Life can be different
on a bicycle built for two.
You can consider answers.
Life can be different
on a bicycle built for two.
First published on Versewrights.
© Ali Grimshaw 2019
Call to service – July 4
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.
Handwritten – poem by Ali Grimshaw
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
Plotting a Course – Poem by Ali Grimshaw
Another sunrise through our window
light of reexamination
realization of the rich journey
the roads I would have not taken
without your vastly different
sense of direction
neither of us see West the same
but agree, it is not the end of our daylight.
© Ali Grimshaw 2019
d’Verse – Quadrille #80 challenge
Borrowed Flight – A Poem by Ali Grimshaw
I am grateful to Ann Kestner at Poetry Breakfast for sharing my poem today. If you have ever had a difficult time figuring out how to say something then you will probably relate to this poem.
Borrowed Flight – A Poem by Ali Grimshaw (click here to read)
Poetry Breakfast serves up a poem each morning to go with your coffee or tea. If you haven’t checked out this site then give it a try. It is a great way to start your day.
flashlight batteries - Ali Grimshaw 