© Alicia Grimshaw 2017
It takes less than you think.
© Alicia Grimshaw 2017
acceptance
Courage rides the train
They stepped onto the train that day
unaware of the choice the ride included.
When the voice of hate screamed
the two stood as stone, unwilling to look away.
Unified strangers woven into a safety net
flung over the young ones
a protective cover given without request
those two hearts knew what freedom
to live without fear was worth.
The cost of standing up,as the train moved into tomorrow
was life itself.
In this morning’s memory mirror
I wonder if I would be brave enough
to ride as they did.
© Alicia Grimshaw 2017
Dedicated to the men who died a year ago in Portland, Oregon as they stood to defend two young women. My heart breaks for the loved ones of Ricky Best, father of four and US Army veteran, and Taliesan Namkai-Meche a recent college graduate. In honor of these two and the countless others who have stood up against hate please join me in acts of kindness wherever you live. Love is the only answer.
For more information read this Washington Post article, ‘Final act of bravery’: Men who were fatally stabbed trying to stop anti-Muslim rants identified
Mother
Long before…
In the unfinished
before the credits scroll past
can you choose acceptance
without an end,
before the conclusion
without approval from the crowd?
Between the ribs, within
deeply, a voice
the one you used to hear
before you thought the others
were the ones that mattered.
Knew better and overruled your soul.
Before you decided
who you weren’t going to be.
© Alicia Grimshaw 2017
On the other side…
Beyond Boundaries
There is no hourglass
of time
in love.
It matters not,
if months or years pass,
love is beyond physical bodies
beyond boundaries.
Like a favorite song
heard from the middle of the tune.
There is no less joy to listen.
Locked away, rust resistant
“Love has no expiration date.”
© Alicia Grimshaw 2017
Photo taken in 2016 while hiking on the Cinque Terre in Italy.
Inclusive Framework
© Alicia Grimshaw 2017
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
Each Morning
“The best poetry has a magical quality—a sense of being more than the sum of its parts—and even when it’s impossible to articulate this sense, this something more, the power of the poem is left undiminished.” – How to Read a Poem from Poets.org
Happy National Poetry Month 2017
© Alicia Grimshaw 2017
She
With faint light in her eyes
hair awry and wiry
trodden down starting from the top
in the yellow sweatshirt that’s
consuming her hands
she shrinks inside
before turning the corner
a slight curve of her mouth
less than half a smile
easily missed by those
who have already decided
who she is.
© Alicia Grimshaw 2017
flashlight batteries - Ali Grimshaw 