© Alicia Grimshaw 2017
Nonverbal Communication
© Alicia Grimshaw 2017
Don’t believe everything you think.
When you visit the land of your own thinking.
Shocked by what you see
tip toe between the lines of your history
so as not to waken them
these tales from the past
will inquire of your intentions.
Take a flashlight
when you visit your thoughts.
It can be eerily dark inside,
a tangle of paths to lose your way.
No one to question doubts
remind you of the courageous act
of responsibility taken just last week.
Step with care, lightly
as you lift, poke and dig.
Leave some music playing in the room
to find your way out.
© Alicia Grimshaw 2017
Beginning
Wrap yourself in the miracle of this sunrise.
Open eyes
Open ears
Open heart
Cry for even one life that is not yet free
unable to see the sun.
A stranger arrives at the bus stop.
“How’s your morning going?”
Look into his eyes, instead of away
as he answers.
Ask him if he saw the sunrise.
© Alicia Grimshaw 2017
What is the cost of waiting?
© Alicia Grimshaw 2017
“In spite of the flames of tragedy, a poem is a glowing ember, making visible the power of hope, and the human spirit. We must not only read and watch, we are called by the poet to bring the flame back to the ember, to do what we can to help people not only to survive, but to thrive.” – Why Poetry Matters from Huffington Post
Opening Up
Under the tree, sitting
knee to knee while
randomly, snow petals
drift down between us.
‘How can we begin again?
After all, I don’t trust.
I have forgotten how, or…
maybe I never knew.’
While branches above blossom yearly
growth regardless of weather.
‘I guess the question is,
how badly do I
want to blossom?’
© Alicia Grimshaw 2017
“Poetry is the journal of the sea animal living on land, wanting to fly in the air. Poetry is a search for syllables to shoot at the barriers of the unknown and the unknowable. Poetry is a phantom script telling how rainbows are made and why they go away.” — Carl Sandburg, from The Atlantic, March 1923.
The Reflection of Grace
What you will not forgive in others
a mirror for what you cannot forgive
in yourself.
Hold the mirror before your face
cracked, distorted by times
of perceived failure, harsh voices.
Look
and look some more,
until you see the darkness of yourself.
Then step through,
step through the reflection to the other,
the other side where
you are him
you are her
you are they
you are no different.
In the mirror two eyes plead
for grace.
© Alicia Grimshaw 2017
This poem is inspired by the amazingly loving Debbie. Her blog Forgiving Connects offers opportunities to reflect on forgiveness and learn from the experiences of others. Thank you Debbie. Forgiving Fridays on Forgiving Connects
Inclusive Framework
© Alicia Grimshaw 2017
My light is shining. Thanks VerseWrights.
I am grateful to VerseWrights for sharing two more of my poems today. Follow the link to find them. VerseWrights is a wonderful online poetry journal. I especially enjoy listening to the PoetryAloud section. There are so many poems to listen to and it gives me a sense of comfort to connect with another’s words.
We all have gifts to share. Please keep shining your unique and essential light in the world.
Refusal
Hold in place. Unwavering as the hurricane blows. Stand still when faced with a slap. Unbreakably bolted down. Absolute. Never cringe away. Stay. Forward one small step, your time. Crawl if you must. Claim your life. Take the hand that is offered then rise again. Unwilling to be swallowed, drug into the past. Drowned. Face toward what your heart holds true. Like a mountain through the seasons, remain.
Living refusal
thoughts chosen to unify
imprisoned by none
© Alicia Grimshaw 2017
My first attempt to write a Haibun (俳文, literally, haikai writings) a prosimetric literary form originating in Japan, combining prose and haiku. For those of you who are know this craft well, please understand this is a humble beginning.
On the Edge
According to her internal judge
she was never quite up to par,
even when she crossed the finish line first
she couldn’t own the accomplishment. Always
on the outside of the window, looking in.
Perplexed by separation. She wanted to belong,
and never wanted to fit in,
knew it would change her.
A part broken off to forever float away.
No one else stayed after class to console the bullied teacher.
It never occurred to her not to.
She saw those faces on the fringe,
secretly knowing she was an outlier as well.
© Alicia Grimshaw 2017
In response to The Daily Post – Outlier
flashlight batteries - Ali Grimshaw 