The Bridge

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 9 Comments

Stalled on the bridge, in between here and there.

I look back to all I have built.

What is still standing and what is no longer in service.

Hoping others will use these spaces, be thoughtful about repairs.

That tall one will need a new roof.

Some may be too weathered to save.

 

Pausing on the bridge, in between here and there.

I look ahead to wide open space.

What could be built and what is needed.

Beauty that can only be created by elements and time.

A center which radiates the harmony of shade trees.

Bare hands joining for strength that I alone do not have.


I remain next to the railing.

water rushing beneath.

 

No longer who I was.

Not yet who I am becoming.

 

© Ali Grimshaw

 

The Field

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 3 Comments

A crack,

followed by a breaking open.

As the walls fall,

you will no longer be contained,

held separate.

Grieve and they shall crumble,

until the last stone is still.

Leaving you in a field of golden openness.

Wide and light.

No need for protection.

Bare.

In the warm air.

By Ali Grimshaw

Another Year

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 2 Comments

I could have happened a billion different ways,

but I happened just one way.

One out of an infinite number of stories,

my story unfolded.

Now I pause in the middle of my book.

Understanding, as I didn’t before,

my power in authoring what is left.

Awed by the journey, the near misses, grieved losses,

the fight that has returned within.

Grateful for wanting to be at this party called life.

Many precious minutes

are not gaurenteed.

Savoring this very one.

By Ali Grimshaw

Learning to Dive

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 1 Comment

One day I finally knew that I could swim

in the blue of the sky.

That I was as strong as I said I was.

That my fears were teachers made just for me.

That there would always be cracks to slip through

and times of trembling.

Then I stood next to the lake,

a mirror of the blue sky,

and dove into its

reflection.

By Ali Grimshaw

Running Story

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 3 Comments

Rain is on our lips,

down the path we run.

 

Through puddles,

Not around.

 

Mud and moss.

Wind whipped hair.

Years of words shared between breaths of air.

 

Creek waters rolling by.

Tears and questions woven into the miles.

 

Over roots, up hills.

Between the trees we run.

 

Thoughts uttered within the flow of movement.

Conversations not possible in stillness.

By Ali Grimshaw

Unlocking My Voice

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 3 Comments

Will you be there when I arrive?

Will you be able to set the noise aside?

Will you listen behind and underneath my words?

Will you give your whole being to what I am telling you?

Will you notice what I don’t say?

Will you stay during the silences?

Will I unlock my voice this time to say

what I have not yet said to myself?

Holding my breath.

I wait for you to 

meet my 

eyes.

By Ali Grimshaw

Invisible

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 3 Comments

There, but not seen,

playing the game of smile and nod

waiting for a turn to speak.

Am I really here?

Maybe they can’t see me.

Maybe I have gone.

Yet the long shadow on the grass

is evidence that I remain.

 

Remembering my voice

I step away to find another shadow

on the edge of all that is green.

I find another who is choosing listening

even though there is so much to say.

Together we hear each other

whilst standing in silence.

By Ali Grimshaw

 

 

Why Do You Ask?

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 3 Comments

Some questions create a vortex

sucking all of the air out of the room.

Others can make time expand,

the air still.

Leaving us wondering

how the question ever got delivered.

A question can catch on fire.

Crackling and sizzling, until it is received.

Sometimes it leaves a burn.

My favorite question is soft.

Words unhurriedly floating,

unsure who they are meant for,

looking for an ear to land on.

By Alicia Grimshaw 2016