The Gift of Goodbye – Poem by Ali Grimshaw


I'll miss you, he said.

3 words that land large within me.
I let them soak inward
pausing, to embrace this moment.

I'll miss you, he said.

Within these words I hear.
      I noticed you while you were here.
      I have felt your presence.
      You mattered,
      a space will be left here after you have gone.

I'll miss you, he said.

How wonderful to be able to hear these words, 
words I didn't know how to hear
before

tears on my smiling face.

© Ali Grimshaw 2023

Photo taken on my journey to France, 2019.

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There Is A Time, A Time To Flap Your Wings And A Time To Glide -Poem by Ali Grimshaw

Let's be in awe
which doesn't mean
anything but the courage
to gape like fish at the surface
breaking around our mouths
as we meet the air.”
― Mark Nepo

release yourself
to the sky
feel the lift 

let your weary weight trust 
in the invisible 
courage of currents 

surf soaring free 
up, over and through
this unexpected windscape

surrender your need 
to know
to resolve
to figure it out 

arms wide, in full float
with the faith of a bird
that doesn't remember
a day without flight
or a time of being grounded

© Ali Grimshaw 2023

Purposeful Pause – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

when will the subtle 
silent, shadows of sureity
be noticed in your day

will your eyes always be drawn away
suduced into following flash floresent
the orange-red of fake fire
immediate over postponed desire

will you try on the bluegreen lined in lime
a cool energy alternative 
worthy of afternoon considerations 

oh, I understand more than you know
this would require stopping
and
you don't have time for that

© Ali Grimshaw 2023

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Magic to Come – Poem by Ali Grimshaw


a gathering of cells
multiplying magnificent

a seed inside 
one breathing being 
and no one even knew

that you had begun
arriving

small magic 
happening inside the womb 

she went about her day 
hanging laundry
in her quiet way

while the message of you 
grew

© Ali Grimshaw 2021

Whether you are a mother or not I wish you a Happy Mother's Day 
in celebration of all mother's around the world. 
Thank you for what you give and gave. 

Just Because – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

“Just Because,” a poem I wrote in celebration of a life teaching, has been published on MasticadoresUsa. Thank you to the editor, Barbara Leonhard for giving it a home. I hope my words will inspire others to consider stepping into the field of education.

“Just Because” 

I teach them
about the magic eraser of fresh starts
far more valuable than double-digit multiplication
or how to identify an adverb.

You can read the full poem HERE

Planting a tree with my 5th graders back in 1994.

Morning Forecast – Poem by Ali Grimshaw


The wordclouds hover above
to make a shadow on my morning.

Looking up I wonder, how am I to decipher
which are fact or which are fiction?

Layered marks of truth and dare
like a novel netted weather pattern

and I am no meterologist,
just someone looking

for a small clearing in the sky.

© Alicia Grimshaw 2023

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Revisiting Beliefs- Poem by Ali Grimshaw

Your belief in aloneness
is your greatest mistake.

You were born into the hands 
of the world, for us 
to sing you through.

Mountains to call you upward
rivers to bring forth and release.

For what you are made of, I am made of
elements of rock, sky and sea.

Your error is not that you are broken
It is that you have yet to see
your wholeness.

© Alicia Grimshaw 2023

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Expansion – Poem by Ali Grimshaw


“What you are, the world is.
And without your transformation,
there can be no transformation of the world.”
- Jiddu Krishnamurti

She squeezed herself
into the shape she was given
condensed her needs and wants
in an effort to take up less space

pulled back to a smaller, smaller
place

There was no room to grow.
There was only survival.

When did it happen
the noticing of held breath?

She smiles now with remembrance.

He came along one day.
He surprised her into a great exhale
and the air
flowed
in
effortlessly.

© Alicia Grimshaw 2022

Photo taken in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
What gift a sunset can be.

Coddiwomple – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

“Turn and go back to the last thing

you remember doing

with your whole heart.”

– Joyce Sutphen


Even without a roadmap
I can follow the song
of my heart's direction.

Sing along while keen 
to its increase.

Turning in time
so as not to lose 
the melodic trail.

Ears intent on my 
wholeness of being

Filtering freefalling notes
once lost
easing my ache
of confusion.

© Ali Grimshaw 2023

Coddiwomple (v.) Origin: English Slang Word.Definition: To travel in a purposeful manner towards a vague destination.

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Time Zones – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

I run from myself
catch a corner of feeling
accept this moment of liberation

as skin of bruised clouds darkens
a prickling tingle goosebumps my arms
airwaves gather energy sparks

our tilted world revolves
a turning we have never
been able to feel
yet know as truth

a shift occurring between/from
who are the others
who are the us

we ride around the sun
evolving regardless of our position
or noticing

recycled drops of rain.

© Ali Grimshaw 2023

First published on MasticadoresUsa 
Thank you for giving my poem a home.

Photo taken in San Franscico. 
A luscious sunset in February of 2023.