Splintered thoughts pierce afternoon intentions, a full-tilt frustrationquake. In the chilled middle perseverance wains weary. Curiosity escapes the building. Shivering anger taps out words I know I will never send. Yet wisdom isn't hibernating. I wait 24 hours to thaw, for what will remain. © Ali Grimshaw 2022 Quadrille #144: Shivering - Join us at dVerse - HERE
Now is the only time that matters Say goodbye to what is gone. No matter its importance then now is a new beginning. We get attached to our words, to-do lists, the shoulds and woulds that we tell ourselves. They keep us tied to the past. Fill us with regret and doubt for the next step forward. Now is the only time that matters. By Val Boyko I am grateful for Val's permission to share her poem from a recent writing circle. You can find more of her poems and yoga offerings here, www.FindYourMiddleGround.com. It has been an amazing to write with Val across the many miles, hear her experiences and find connection with someone who started out as a stranger and now is a friend. I continue to meet big-hearted humans across different time zones. Writing together provides a mirror for us to process life in a place where we have all agreed to listen with compassion. Come join us for a writing circle. Write Yourself: Reflection Through Poetry Saturday, January 29, 2022 Click HERE for more information and registration. No experience needed. All voices welcome. Photo taken at Smith Rock State Park
I am honored to have my poem, Sidewalk Gallery, included in this anthology alongside many other poets that I adore. Thank you, Brian Geiger, for the opportunity to share my words.
From the publisher: “From a shaft of sunlight warming the kitchen floor to a lush forest by Walden pond, what is it about experiencing nature that pleases and fulfills us? In the third volume of the Vita Brevis Poetry Anthology, established and emerging poets from around the world show what nature means to them. This is nature poetry at its most precise and moving, continuing the long tradition of Transcendentalism, deciphering ourselves and the world that sustains us — with art.”
You can find Nothing Divine Dies here in paperback and ebook.
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” - Martin Luther King Jr I teach them. I teach them about the magic eraser of fresh starts far more valuable than double digit multiplication or how to identify an adverb. I teach them. I teach them to listen for their own questions ones that lift and spring forth aliveness. The ones that come from within. I teach them. I teach them in the hot and cold times heartbreak tsunami, within or without walls. They are my living hope, my wonder. I teach them and I receive the beauty of their being. © Ali Grimshaw 2022 Mural created by the 5th grade students of Mr. Bowen'class at Oak Creek Elementary. I am honored to support the students and teachers of this amazing school. Stay strong.
I built a bridge to you using marshmallows and glue It was worth the sticky effort then it melted in the rain. I threw a magic ruby rope woven with sparkles of hope singing enchantments to call you closer. I dug a river of blue inviting a float on my skin to pull you within but you preferred to fly. I nested a home for myself cocooned through my pain. With a change in the winds on a zephyr you rode in. © Ali Grimshaw 2022 dVerse Open LInk Night #307 - Join in HERE Photo take at the fantastic Chihuly Garden last summer when I was still traveling.
Writing together is a beautiful method of letting go, highlighting what is worth holding on to, and listening inward. It is a playful journey and a great way to make friends from distant places. Join me for a writing circle as we start a new year.
Write Yourself: Reflection Through Poetry. 1/15/22, 10:30 AM PST – Click HERE
Wishing you peace and wellness in 2022.
Ali
Do birds tweet tips to build the ultimate nest the perfect moss, twigs and feathers, compare upgrades while glancing at neighboring trees? Are their morning songs full of howtos improvements for the hatching experience which worms provide ultimate first year growth? Do they evaluate whose chick flies first beak prodding, edging young to the side of the nest? Do whales train for the record breaking swim gossip about sleek oils to reduce resistance, or share tips for secret feeding grounds? Do they nose their young to be better, faster, more than the last generation in hope of survival? Do they feel the temperature change of homeland waters and wonder? What does it mean to live up to your full potential? Who decides what that looks like while growing inside a cage of culture we have been born into? More is better or not, faster? Further? More fragile? What says the wisdom of each being? When have I last heard my beating heart? © Ali Grimshaw 2021 Join us at dVerse Open LInk Night - HERE
Awe is the wisdom of sweet sticky handed laughter. Let loose to tumble through doorways of my day. Eyes of wonderful, cherishing new gleam on faces found. Mystery of how this connects to that which we would have never guessed was related. Unexpected sparkles in the corner. © Ali Grimshaw 2021 Meeting the Bar: Critique and Craft - Join us at dVerse HERE
Briefly
Stages and ages of crimson edges
crisp rounds, centers of golden.
Veins will remain long after the delicate
sections have disassembled themselves
to join the soil for another cycle.
These elders don't fight seasonal changes.
Through the quiet and loud
or bend and wave of storm
they receive while sheltering seedings below
forever willing to show their nakeness
in the darkest of times.
With empty arms
while full of life within.
Their offerings a mosaic
of temorary color.
© Ali Grimshaw 2021
Join us on dVerse Poet's Pub for Open Link Night - HERE
I can’t imagine my life without poetry. How many times has a poem shifted my thinking, invited my tears of release, or shined a light on the awe of being alive? Each poem is an invitation to slow down. Without them what could I have missed? Therefore, I am grateful to others who promote poetry and for each poet brave enough to share.
Thank you to Susi Blocks for nominating one of my poems from The Short of It for The Pushcart Prize I am one of six to be nominated by her. My poem, Thunderstorm Conversations can be read on Susi’s blog, I Write Her. If you’d like to be featured on The Short of It, click here for the submissions guidelines.
Thank you to the poems, let’s keep making space for them to arrive.
Ali
flashlight batteries - Ali Grimshaw 