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500th – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 2 Comments 
"The decision we face is not to chart the perfect way forward; it is simply to embark on a journey. Once we’ve taken a step forward, the work will teach us where to take a second step, and then a third, and so on. Purpose does not reveal itself to those sitting safely at the starting block. In other words, you don’t plan your way into finding your purpose. You live into it.”
- Jacqueline Novogratz

500th

I guess I can't call it an accident
it's time to admit, intentionality.
Claiming my inner poet five years ago
(a birthday gift to myself) has led to this
my 500th post. I would have given up 
sharing, long ago, if it hadn't been for you 
you reading, then reflecting back 
your thoughts in return.

Knowing the aloneness of darkness
I started with the desire  
to reach just one
share my flashlight 
sit beside and just listen 
and listen some more.

These years have brought your voices
on the breeze, across seas, 
stanzas have sailed, flown
and walked themselves
beyond boundaries,
I have heard your hearts.

Together we are rewriting 
a world through poetry.

Thank you for being a part of my journey.
I am here to serve you in yours.

I would love to write with you and hold space for your words. 

Renewal Through Poetry: Introductory Writing Circles
March 7, 4:00 PM PST register here – Eventbrite

When heaviness becomes an unwanted roommate

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 51 Comments 
“It’s not the weight you carry
but how you carry it –
books, bricks, grief –
it’s all in the way
you embrace it, balance it, carry it
–from Mary Oliver, “Heavy”
untold stories swallowed whole
like stones in your belly
can fly when spoken

 alight on trusted shoulders
 go reside elsewhere

 write your untold narratives
 scribble pain into delicate beauty

 burn those
 you are finished reading
 ignite just enough heat 

 vitality is drawn to warmth

 © Ali Grimshaw 2021

dVerse Quadrille - Going, going, gone. Come join us.

Let’s Get Lost in a Poem – Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 20 Comments 
Poetry is truth in a universal language able to cross boundaries and reach the human heart. It is through our practice of listening deeply to poems, to ourselves and each other that the joy of connection is created within the writing circle. I am honored to hold space for your words and invite you to welcome them to the page. Let's get lost together as we write and reflect. Join me for an upcoming writing circle. Fill your heart. 

Let's get lost 
in beauty of the waves.
Put the needle on the record
of this day,
live simply so others may
simply live
to delight in all good things
wild and free.

© Ali Grimshaw 2021

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

Poems from the Circle

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 13 Comments
Louise Gallagher – Dareboldly.com

My dream is to create a safe space for you to explore the words that live inside you. Holding this listening space is one of the times I feel most alive. Our lives are enriched by reflectively listening to ourselves and others. It takes courage to reveal yourself and it is worth it.

Louise Gallagher is yet another amazing human that I wouldn’t have met without her taking a chance to share in the circle. Thank you, Louise, for your permission to share your artful poem here. It has been a gift to hear your words arrive and observe them unfurling over the past several weeks. Louise is a creativity activist, visual story-teller, mixed-media artist, writer, mentor, coach. You can find more of her poetry and beautiful creations at dareboldly.com

Writing together provides a mirror for us to process life in a safe place. Click here for information about my next Sunday writing circle.

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.”

This is not a pair of shoes

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 31 Comments 
This dancing couple has grace
swinging and swirling across the floor
while never leaving each other's side.

One with a worn toe from accenting turns
The other steady centered,
to spin in balanced pleasure.

I long to slip into their magical trance 
it has been a long while
since they have been out on a date.

As I pull them from the closet
I smile with the miles of songs
we traveled together.

Both have matched many steps 
to anxious cold handed partners 
tentative hesitance of beginners
ease of familiar firm arms.

This pair is a portal to playfulness
open to all ages, they remain 
timeless in their relationship.

A long lasting love story between them
to be lived again and again
until their soles have worn away.

© Ali Grimshaw 2021

Come join the fun on dVerse with Poetics: Object Poems

Dedicated to all my social dancing friends and anyone who is missing the joy of dancing together.

Sifting – Poem By Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 18 Comments 
Palms upward as hands face sky 
open spaces between fingers relaxing
into what has been a time of gentle 
and harsh scrubbing of the heart. 
Every inch of skin Brillo pad raw. 
An exfoliation of what has been. 
My fists, no longer clenched 
in tight survival, trust in slow unfurling.
Pain tingling as blood returns to fingertips.
Learning feet reground my trunk 
to an upright position, toes rooted 
past sand into bedrock. Freeing now
agile hands to sift through the helpful lessons 
caught in my soft palms as promises
while unneeded thoughts fall through finger spaces
to join other decomposing conversations 
of days when I didn't know listening.
Composting the no longer serviceable
into nutrients for the new words to come.

© Ali Grimshaw 2021