When dusk is comfort…
love
Bouncing Bullets
Slanderous words,
sharp and sticky abound.
Potentially murderous voices shoot out
yet ricochet off the innocent assemblage
surrounded by love, like bubble wrap.
A deadly collection of letters,
bouncing back to their owners.
While the souls remain
cloaked in truth,
“Those words aren’t us.”
No need for bulletproof vests to repel them.
Let them decay on the street
the street cleaner will dispose of them
before morning light.
© Ali Grimshaw
Axis Tilt
Could this be the final day
of an autumn that I thought would last?
A mellowing of red between us
once crackling emotions now dust bits
collected in a whirling dervish
carried away in the wind.
Now I am an empty street waiting
for the street light to click on.
Predictable and ever awed
by the chance
to begin again.
© Ali Grimshaw
Ripples
You have landed
in your own pond
sending out rings
your circles overlapping those of
other rocks who have taken the plunge.
I cannot see the ripples
you will make in others’ lives.
Yet, I know they exist. As I have
felt your wholeness in our embrace.
I see you time and again, resurfacing.
The shine in your eyes,
never to be the same
only brighter.
© Ali Grimshaw
Traversing Together
Head down, back bent,
climbing back into yourself
fear perspiring on your forehead.
Looks like you could use a lift.
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.
© Ali Grimshaw
When you stop long enough…
If you are hanging on by your fingertips…
Below 32 Degrees
The quiet between us
like floating icebergs
tongues frostbit into stillness
is it that we have forgotten what to say
misplaced our formula to speak,
a habitual slow retreat to safety?
“What are you thinking about?”
“Nothing.”
I am uncertain how to start the
defrost cycle.
© Ali Grimshaw
Message From The Clouds
Dirty Knees
When she fell
in her pain she was grateful,
to all those along the way who
patiently taught her how to rise to her feet.
showed her how to dust off,
heal the wounds,
start again.
After years of practice
she wasn’t afraid of falling anymore.
Dirty knees were honorable.
© Ali Grimshaw 2016
flashlight batteries - Ali Grimshaw 