Uncategorized

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.

Held – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 23 Comments 
"The answer is always a question. 
There is no truth more true than wonder." - Andrea Gibson

Is there anything that I hold
that isn't also holding me?

cool air breathing me alive from the inside

the back of the chair supporting me
as my weight is upon it

the trusted walls enclosing me 
as I hold space for myself to be

outside my window weighted limbs layered with frost

holding you in my thoughts
I wonder widely
while held within the hands of change
as twilight slowly surrounds me.

© Ali Grimshaw 2023

Join me for Open Link Night
on dVerse Poets' Pub
OLN #342 information HERE. 
Come share a poem.
Saturday, July 22, 7:00 am PST.

When you are handed sunshine in capital letters- Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 16 Comments 

when those letters came into view
capitals singing out a future
I had not yet thought of 

I pulled that idea into my heart
tucked it carefully in tight
not to lose a single drop of glee

as I turned to skip a beat
down 
the 
street

belief landed before
I ever met your eyes

© Ali Grimshaw 2023

Glorious - By Ma Muse
Give this song a listen. 
It is my celebration song of the week.

Don’t Forget to Send Your Reply – Poem By Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 16 Comments 
You asked for a poem but left before 
I got a chance to inquire about preferred flavors.

Are you in need of savory words to awaken, 
or rich, creamy expressions to nourish dreams
ease your anxious heart?

I could choose a random flavor for you
but that would invite my worries in.

So I am choosing to write out a mixed assortment,
courageous squares of coconut glee,
rounds of morning daybreak delight, 
cinnamon memories combined with almost burnt
toast, and 
the encouragement of toffee's complexity.

This sampler will help me to better
understand your tastes.

Please reply with honesty, start with
the flavors that bring a sigh.

© Ali Grimshaw 2023

There Is A Time, A Time To Flap Your Wings And A Time To Glide -Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 8 Comments 
“Let's be in awe
which doesn't mean
anything but the courage
to gape like fish at the surface
breaking around our mouths
as we meet the air.”
― Mark Nepo

release yourself
to the sky
feel the lift 

let your weary weight trust 
in the invisible 
courage of currents 

surf soaring free 
up, over and through
this unexpected windscape

surrender your need 
to know
to resolve
to figure it out 

arms wide, in full float
with the faith of a bird
that doesn't remember
a day without flight
or a time of being grounded

© Ali Grimshaw 2023

Purposeful Pause – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 10 Comments 
when will the subtle 
silent, shadows of sureity
be noticed in your day

will your eyes always be drawn away
suduced into following flash floresent
the orange-red of fake fire
immediate over postponed desire

will you try on the bluegreen lined in lime
a cool energy alternative 
worthy of afternoon considerations 

oh, I understand more than you know
this would require stopping
and
you don't have time for that

© Ali Grimshaw 2023

dVerse Open Link 
Join a friendly group of poets HERE

Magic to Come – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 16 Comments 

a gathering of cells
multiplying magnificent

a seed inside 
one breathing being 
and no one even knew

that you had begun
arriving

small magic 
happening inside the womb 

she went about her day 
hanging laundry
in her quiet way

while the message of you 
grew

© Ali Grimshaw 2021

Whether you are a mother or not I wish you a Happy Mother's Day 
in celebration of all mother's around the world. 
Thank you for what you give and gave.

Just Because – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 19 Comments

“Just Because,” a poem I wrote in celebration of a life teaching, has been published on MasticadoresUsa. Thank you to the editor, Barbara Leonhard for giving it a home. I hope my words will inspire others to consider stepping into the field of education. 

“Just Because” 

I teach them
about the magic eraser of fresh starts
far more valuable than double-digit multiplication
or how to identify an adverb.

You can read the full poem HERE

Planting a tree with my 5th graders back in 1994.

Arrival – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 19 Comments 

"Happiness held is the seed. Happiness shared is the flower."
-John Harrigan

what sweet relief to witness
the majesty of bloom on blue
background bright with multiple

openings of pinks possible 
a sigh of cold escapes me, finally
evidence of arrival in the air

I smell aliveness and
again, I have survived winter

© Alicia Grimshaw 2023
Photo taken this afternoon in Portland, Oregon.
Just a regular walk.

H2O – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 16 Comments 

water is love

with spoiled sleep 
a handful of sand between the sheets
you wake up thirsty

luckily you're 10 steps 
from a faucet
from the sound of life filling a cup
tasting your beginnings

rain continues in Portland, Oregon 
while citizens dream dry skies

drought continues in Ethiopia
while 24 million cry for water

love isn't always water
sometimes love is listening longer than
you have before
especially when you think you already know 
pushing your ego aside to make room 
for hearing
free like the bubbler on the street corner

giving water to an urban camper is kind
but could be a solution to a problem
that doesn't exist
no necesito agua

"I always leave the faucet running."
how lucky to be ignorant
how unlucky to not know the smell of drought
when water tastes of life

determined tulips of hope whisper to her
she tethers huge rainclouds to her belt
walks her way to the parched

the future hasn't happened yet
anything is still possible

like the yellow umbrella leaning
next to the open door
suggests sunlight in raindrops

© Alicia Grimshaw 2023
Photo taken on one of Portland's classic 
summer bike rides. Pedalpalooza! 

Inspired by National Poetry Writing Month's 
writing prompt for today
"Twenty Little Poetry Projects”
See all the prompts HERE