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Togetherness is not a small word – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 26 Comments


and just when I think “How much could it matter?”
someone shows me

how my listening can be love
how my actions can be a bridge
how little I still understand about what is possible

and I shout out, THANK YOU
constellations of gratitude
and atmospheric appreciation
to each and every life that has touched mine

for each life I have yet to encounter

© Ali Grimshaw 2023


Dear readers,
Just when I think, why in the world am I writing, blogging, and sending out poems, someone reflects back that it matters to them. I started sharing my poems to honor a friend’s request. It was uncomfortable and sometimes scary. What moved me forward is my belief that if my words connect with one person in a way that they feel less alone, then it is worth it. It is still uncomfortable to share my words and maybe that is part of the process of being seen by others and knowing you don’t have control of any readers’ interpretation.

Over the years I have experienced writing myself forward. I will continue to hold writing circles to support others on this journey. Because of all who have read this blog, I have this amazing learning adventure. Thank you for reading and reflecting back your thoughts. Thank you for sharing yourselves openly. May we heal the world with our loving listening of each other.

Don’t ever give up.
Hands of love are reaching for you
even when you can’t see them.

Happy New Year,
Ali
P.S. The photo is of my father’s hand and the hand of my oldest son. It represents healing across the generations.


Each One of Many – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 31 Comments

Hope is a muscle. It is a vigorous choice, to see what is wrong and what needs healing and needs repair and needs our attention and also to keep our hearts and our imaginations and our energy oriented towards what we want to build, what we want to create, what we’re walking towards. – Krista Tippett

if each person is a light
if we are billions of shades shifting into place

a musical kaleidoscopic view
of chromaticity
each piece a necessity of brilliant contrasts
an ever changing infinitely beautiful song

what splendor of possibilities
sparkles this world

if we chose ourselves 
as magnificent beings of change

hope in full color

© Ali Grimshaw 2023

Join me at dVerse Poets' for Open Link Night HERE.

Photo of stained glass skylight from Palau de la Música Catalana, Barcelona, Spain 2018. If you ever visit Barcelona don’t miss this space.

Flaming – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 21 Comments

“The fire of a heart that loves is a flame that will never be put out.” – Anita Brooks

first you need to finish the falling
let your pain bleed out all its colors
let each vein be filled 
let each edge receive the final flow

the leaves are showing you 
how beauty flames in seasons

will you see yourself
 
yourself yearning 

to fall free

you can't begin again until you have left 
the branch you cling to

© Ali Grimshaw 2023
Photo take in Portland, Oregon 

Weekly Prompts Colour Challenge Flame.

Autumn Amble – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 18 Comments

“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.” – Albert Camus

Let's linger in the Autumn glow
dusk is on its way

to cloak us with comfort
ease our worries loose
to fall.

Pausing here 
we become one with this 
seasonal scene of hush

before continuing our saunter
harvesting what matters most
from this day.

© Ali Grimshaw 2021

Photo take in Portland, Oregon 2020. 

Join me for an upcoming writing circle. I am honored to hold space for your words to appear on the page. Together we are finding our way forward. 

Saturday, November 18 at 9:30 - 11:00 am PST. $20

Monday, November 27 at 4:00 - 5:30 pm PST. $20

Email me to register at coaching@aligrimshaw.com

Elimination – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 20 Comments 

He throws down an eight of clubs.
She counters with a merciless queen.

Loss then gain the stacks grow
bloodless conquering of another.

They aim to slay the other while gaming with destruction.
"I will kill you," she shouts with glee.

There are no real winners in this game of war
only silent members lost 
from a deck forever altered by the missing.

The unequal sides of reds and blacks. 
All of the kings have gone missing.

© Ali Grimshaw 2023

Photo taken in Dubrovnik, Croatia. I had an opportunity to reflect on 
the 1991 bombing of this town while visiting this past September. 

Written in response to the prompt, Poetics: Why war?
come join a friendly community of poets on dVerse Poets' Pub, HERE.

Awakening – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 10 Comments 
I expect to wake each morning.
Safely carried through night's passing.
How have I not noticed this?
Before dreams retreat, my feet finding floor.

Safely carried through night's passing.
Pixelating myself onto this day's screen.
Before dreams retreat, my feet finding floor.
I have taken wholeness for granted.

Pixelating myself onto this day's screen.
Standing in this ordinary.
I have taken wholeness for granted.
Movement is my freedom to be.

Standing in this ordinary.
How have I not noticed this?
Movement is my freedom to be.
I expect to wake each morning.

© Ali Grimshaw 2023

Join us at dVerse for Open Link LIve #348, this Saturday, October 14 at 7:00 AM PST or wherever you are in your time zone. Come to listen or read a poem. Visit dVerse Poets’ Pub HERE for details. See you there.

Morning Arrival in Mljet

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 18 Comments

Arched islands like backs of resting animals

cooling in the sea.

White ships glide as water skippers

to cross morning skin of blue shimmer.

An impressionist scene of morning

as bikes are unloaded with laughter and Croatian directives.

One man leaning over the boat railing.

One man below.

One bicycle at a time.

Until the two-wheeled collective has left the ship.

They create a peloton premonition on the sidewalk below.

My anticipating heart beats in synch

with the surrounding islands

as the sky opens.

I have been traveling by boat and by bicycle in Croatia. What a gorgeous country.

ROLL DOWN THE WINDOW, PLEASE – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 23 Comments 
Goodbyes, they come in all shapes and sizes. My poem, ROLL DOWN THE WINDOW, PLEASE, is about the complex feelings of saying goodbye to a child that has grown to adulthood. A huge thank you to Visual Verse for publishing it. Please follow the link to give it a read. Here.

Visual Verse: An Anthology of Art and Words
One image, one hour, 50-500 words.
The picture is the starting point, the text is up to you. 
Consider submitting and reading the amazing pieces shared on this site. It is one of my favorites.

Join a welcoming community of poets at dVerse Poets’ Pub for Open Link Night. Share one poem of your choosing. HERE

Jump into August – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 20 Comments

Dipping skinny-style, screaming out in glee, we entered the river to revive. Jumping away from the heated August afternoon only to return to the warm rocks and bask like turtles. Then followed hours of our rinse and repeat cycle as sunlight slid down the river. Summer freedom was its own kind of happy without the constraints of parents or the weight of planning for the future to come. We flew through the air trusting the pools to welcome us with a generosity that had held so many before our time. There were no thoughts of tomorrow.

bubbled free

water nymphs laze

summertide

©Ali Grimshaw 2021

Brooklyn Bridge – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 14 Comments 
four bicycles, four riders
"let's make a memory"

breezes of golden summer
delight our pedaling legs

freedom like five-year-olds
without wonderings for tomorrow

(half-way across the bridge I pause 
to snap this photo
even knowing it will
never capture this preciousness)

coasting clear of any fear
spontaeous spirits led us here

four of us riding toward
a view in transition

one point of light arriving at a time

© Ali Grimshaw 2023

This photo was indeed taken halfway across the Brooklyn Bridge in the summer of 2019. It is a memory I treasure.