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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.

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