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Previously – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 18 Comments 

Turn around and look.

Your lifepath prints are there,
evidence of where you have been.

Listen, hear the ocean's steadfast rhythm
alongside, regardless of direction forward.
Can you feel it echo inside you?

You are forever held by Mother Earth,
whether floating or stumbling or standing still.

Aloneness is an idea of your mind.

You can choose to welcome it 
or kiss it goodbye.

© Alicia Grimshaw 2026

Photo taken at the Oregon Coast, 2026. 

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Planting – Poem By Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 15 Comments

“But it is not enough to weep for our lost landscapes; we have to put our hands in the earth to make ourselves whole again. Even a wounded world is feeding us. Even a wounded world holds us, giving us moments of wonder and joy. I choose joy over despair. Not because I have my head in the sand, but because joy is what the earth gives me daily and I must return the gift.” ― Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants

In the wind
a yearning hunger

exhales united in pain
gather into traveling rain. 

Storm clouds of resistance
blanketing the vulnerable.

We plant the seeds
again, again

as our grandmothers before us.

Apple trees to feed a future
we will never see.

Believing abundance

possible.

© Alicia Grimshaw 2026

Join dVerse Poet’s Pub for Open Link Night. HERE This poem was inspired by the quadrille challenge – Hunger.

Photo taken at my aunt and uncle’s home in Oregon. It was a great apple harvest that year.

Fall Will Catch You – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 33 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 will catch you
with muted volume
a serenade of equilibrium

while watercolored leaves 
hold you in a nest of rest.

© Alicia Grimshaw (rewrite of 2018 poem)

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3 Good Things – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 12 Comments 
They don't need to be your favorite one.
You don't need to justify them to anyone.

One could arrive before getting out of bed 
or a memory that brings warmth.

One could be a warm shower, the relief of crying 
or standing under a clear sky.

One could be a deep breath, a complete filling of lungs 
or the priviledge of not know what time it is.

A window to a neighbor who grow flowers
or someone who listens when your words stumble. 

Birdsong mornings, soft landings of wooded paths 
freedom to choose, relief of laughter, steady rib bones

to protect a still beating heart.

There are always 3 good things
if you choose them

they are yours
to hold.

©Ali Grimshaw 2022

During the first year of the pandemic I began to paint rocks that said, "3 good things." I left them randomly around my neighborhood as I walked and ran. My intention was to remind myself and those around me to think of "3 good things" in their day. I began to text friends and family asking them to share their "3 good things." Somewhere along the way I forgot about this action. I stopped doing it. Finding this photo today reminded me how simple and rewarding this was. And I am choosing to begin again. If you feel inspired please share your "3 good things" with me.

Taking Flight – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 26 Comments 
Transitions are in the air... some are leaving the nest for flight. 

As you join the others
a new word grows inside me,

a tight bundled joypain sits within
my chest cracking open to release 

the scent of baby powered damp hair

for the many practiced days have passed
the next migration is a solo flight.

Your sturdy shoulders of readiness 
experimental charm accompanied with grin

will be a gift many will appreciate.

Your graduation to come 
is a forced exhale and I breathe in 

the flight to come.

Shake off the illusion, you were never 
really mine from the start. 

You have always belonged to to the world.

I was always ever the warm nest
from which you would someday fly.

©Ali Grimshaw 2022

Join a welcoming community for Open Link Night at dVerse. HERE

Dedicated to all parents of graduates.  Yes, part of your heart is stepping out into the world to touch the lives of others. Let it go. Part of it will stay with you forever. What a privilege to experience this amazing journey of expanding love. Congratulations.

My light is shining

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 17 Comments

“A river no more begins at its source

than a story begins with the first page.“

– Once Upon A River

I am honored to have two new poems included in the anthology Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women. This highly anticipated anthology, edited by Gabriela Marie Milton (Short Prose) and published by Ingrid Wilson (Experiments in Fiction), debuts in early June 2022. Thank you so much, Gabriela and Ingrid, for all your efforts to bring these poems of strength to the world. I am excited to hold them in my hands.

5 Answers to the Same Question – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 15 Comments 
1. Ease your body into 
a warm bath, stay long enough 
to forget why its ending and how
time ever mattered.

2. Get your shovel
plant your tears along with faith
flower seeds for tomorrow's
sky brightening.

3. Climb to the roof, listen for
birds from a different perspective
notice the variation in song
brings clearer thoughts.

4. Wander while feeling 
solid ground, allow disappointment 
to flee your swinging arms
until lightness of hope arrives.

5. Leave yourself behind
the one that didn't believe
your worth. Buy yourself
colored pencils, new sneakers.

©Ali Grimshaw 2022

For the 18th day of Na/GloPoWriMo 
- “Five Answers to the Same Question.” 

Photo taken in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Not for purchase

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 19 Comments

image

Your judgmental gaze cannot melt
the lines of my mistakes, they have become
collective beauty I hold as my reward for living
unimaginable shapes to fill with crayoned hues
I am my own coloring book
not available for purchase

© Alicia Grimshaw 2018