Let’s Write Together

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ Leave a comment

“Poetry might be defined as the clear expression of mixed feelings.” W.H. Auden, New Year Letter

In this time of change, I am keeping my eyes on love and offering a safe space to gather for reflection. There is much to process each day. Without an intentional pause I notice how easy it is for my brain to experience emotional overload. Poems provide an opportunity for slowing down, to pause. Writing together is an invitation to pause in the wonder of this day and remember we are alive. Every voice is welcome.

Renewal Through Poetry: Writing Circle

Join a small, online group to

  • Explore the use of poetry to inspire us.
  • Cultivate curiosity about our thinking and writing.
  • Experience writing as a tool for positive self reflection and well-being.

You will have the opportunity to connect more deeply with yourself, through your own writing, as well as through the writing shared by others. By offering a safe environment, through reflective listening, this workshop will support participants in expressing their authentic voice.

No writing experience needed. Group maximum 6 participants.

We will meet virtually using Zoom.

Register on Eventbrite

Nested – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 45 Comments
  • Salmon River, Oregon
Somedays we may
need to return to the nest
lined with words of hope,
blanketed by belief
in our ability to fly again.

Somedays we may
need to hold ourselves
leaning into curved sides
of this small structure
built by someone who loved us.

© Ali Grimshaw 2020
dVerse Poet's Pub - Quadrille #113: Blanket Us

Let Fall Catch You – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 29 Comments 
Painted leaves sing in unison
Unlike music, their song
is soundless harmony.

This orchestra of glow
soothes the tempo
of an internal pounding

from a day of instruments
that refused to play
the same song.

Fall catches you
with muted volume
a serenade of equilibrium

let the blushing colors 
sing you home.

© Alicia Grimshaw (rewrite of 2018 poem)

4:00 am Inquiry – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 35 Comments 
Whose fault is it?
Were you the one
who left it undone?

Did she really say
say it that way 
or was it just play?

Why didn't you leave
sooner rather than later?
Did it get better?

Was he to blame?
Should I feel shame?

When did it all start 
mattering so much?
Is it ok to touch?

What is there to do?
Are you wondering too?

Where is the starting line now?
What are the rules in play?
Are you even in the race?
Do you want to be?

© Ali Grimshaw 2020

dVerse Poet's Pub - Open Link Night. Come join us here.

Poems from the circle

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 17 Comments 
Leave the dirt on....

Messy, scrambled words
Striving for control
    How I am perceived
    How I am received
Oh! You want me to show you

my skinned knee, 
my bruised heart, 
my bad dream?

My words, without my edits,
will show you the twisted, rambling trail
I have taken to get here.

    Are you sure you can keep up?

By Nancy A. Musgrove
I am grateful for Nancy’s permission 
to share her poem from the writing 
circle here. I continue to meet 
amazing women across different time 
zones. Writing together provides a 
mirror for us to process life in a 
safe place where we have all agreed 
to listen with compassion. 
Interested in joining a writing circle? 
Email met at coaching@aligrimshaw.com

Belated Gratitude

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 18 Comments

Dear Bill,

Dear George,

Dear Barack,

I am one citizen of the United States of America, just one.

One person who believes that each of us matters.

One who has learned so much this year about what I have taken for granted. I thought a peaceful transition of power in our country was guaranteed. I guess it shows I wasn’t paying close enough attention. I guess I didn’t realize how much I wasn’t listening.

Thank you for holding peace for all of us while I was unaware.

Thank you for the respect you gave the next to come.

Thank you for choosing to honor our country with your letters.

I regret that I didn’t notice or understand how much there was to appreciate about you in the past. I also believe it is never too late to be grateful for someone else’s life and seek to understand what a difference it made for others.

In gratitude,

One member of the United States of America

© Ali Grimshaw 2020

These Letters From Presidents To Their Successors Show What A Peaceful Transfer Of Power Looks Like

ex·cog·i·tat·ing

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 18 Comments 
Broken shadows across the cracked ground
smoke ghosts reside in charred places
once nestled home spaces, closed
doorways of tomorrow
silent squatters drift
among dreams to
imagine
rain, please
rain.

© Ali Grimshaw 2020

dVerse Poets Pub Challenge 
NONET – a nine line poem that begins 
with 9 syllables, descending 
line by line to 1 syllable.

* First line of this poem taken from 
W.S. Merwin,“To the Light of September”

Assurance – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 27 Comments 
Stretched openness of summer sky. 
Time’s width I can't hold 
in one viewing.

I bend to gather 
this spray of light 
and still can't see all
points arriving through darkness.

Each beam 
it’s own part in the collective
we have named starlight.

I stand openly
as sky falls toward me
into my arms
assurance that is bigger
than this moment.

© Ali Grimshaw 2020
With all of the smoke in the sky, 
the stars are no longer visible.
I remember they are there 
and see them in my dreams. 
Please send prayers and thoughts
of goodness for the many fighting 
the wildfires in Oregon.

Photo by James Wheeler on Pexels.com



And so …

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 50 Comments 
golden smoke blocks the sun as I stand witness
while winds shift to blow barging into planned days
and so...
I am listening.

What better offering could I make
while extending my reach to you?
My throat burns with an ache to howl.
As the people flee, where is safety now?

So many blue sky days 
led us to false views.
We are all running from something.
walking away from something else.

I'm sending my love on the wind,
the force that both heats and cools.
Both helpful and harmful, depending,
contradictions of the mingled smokey fear.

Tangles of the unknowable 
ringed history, as mystery 
held by the forest guardians
now ash returning to soil.

As flames fly from tree to tree,
igniting compassionate hope or hatred
I see through the window
goodbye waves from living limbs of the still green.

and I feel your heat from miles away.
© Ali Grimshaw 2020

Oregon's Current Total Fires 37
Total Acreage Burned 805,332.364

Strong winds spread numerous wildfires in Oregon and Washington By Bill Gabbert

Hold on – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 46 Comments 
I want to hold hands
sausage fingers in mine
small digits without worry
just skin to skin plain 
without any condiments

I want your fingers intertwined 
juicing out quick squeezes 
of assurance like a secret code 
shared with my first love

I long to hold on firmly 
tender like a ripe peach, 
so as not to imprint
my needs on you

I want to come together
with grape clustered acceptance
gripping without gripe
savoring a shared stem

I want to feel held 
our palms sandwiching
this day's delight 

© Ali Grimshaw 2020

It's open link night at dVerse Poet's Pub. Come share a poem and connect with others.