Fall Forward
Replay
Before I walk away,
returning to a new season of my life,
let’s rewind this journey for one
last view. The thrills, near misses,
and countless conversations melted together,
making me the true color I have become.
Wherever I am
is your home
to come back to.
© Alicia Grimshaw
Without Wings
The Aha
Once balanced on their ends
the squares fall, one nudging the other.
A tumbling of memories,
replaying like a film made from still pictures.
held together by a plot that used to make sense.
Now I hold a new appreciation for the structure
that held them in place for years. The straining sides
that were keeping order, now dissolved,
layers becoming a ferris wheel of change
arriving as a new shape on the floor.
© Ali Grimshaw
Embrace the Struggle
Strength Training
Today
I possess the power
to return your judgemental gaze
with full ownership of who I am.
“Yes, this is me.”
A me of mistakes,
fearless learning,
repeated crashing and rising,
heart wide open
scars and wounds visible
capable of the unimaginable
love of Herculean strength.
I won’t ever fit in your box.
I am my own coloring book.
© Ali Grimshaw
Shades of Gray
Between the light and dark lie many shades of gray,
easily misunderstood by those not interested
in searching the sky for shapes.
With curiosity comes an acceptance of the continuum
from silver ash to smokey midnight.
Shades that vary only by a brushstroke of ink,
yet change a life in ways that can never be turned back.
The dark that challenges us to grow
and pushes the fearful through the door.
The light that illuminates
on the other side.
© Ali Grimshaw
Hold The Light
A View from Above
Outside the window
traffic below crawls away from all that matters.
Amongst the jammed up colors,
a pedestrian easily weaves through the congestion
slipping through the heavy flow of life.
gracefully he continues while surrounded by the unmoving,
often pausing to look up.
He alone sees the clouds above the tall buildings.
No one else remembers the sky.
© Ali Grimshaw
Years of Isolation
A need for self protection
more fierce, more essential
than life itself.
The consuming energy of keeping her heart safe.
The waning strength to keep the walls fortified.
To give without receiving.
To live without wanting
A game of survival that she only knew
how to play alone.
© Ali Grimshaw
flashlight batteries - Ali Grimshaw 