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

“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

“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.