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Equinox – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 47 Comments

During this one day of balanced light, I feel a lack of evenness. I’m ok with this. Acceptance has befriended me. I used to believe in a balanced lifestyle. I pushed and pulled my daily life to create this ideal. Now I am no longer focused on this achievement. Instead, I am chasing aliveness like a kite must feel the wind. I wish for floating and exhilaration to be part of my journey but I don’t expect it always. I am no longer keeping score of ups and downs and the need for them to equal out weekly. I am taking it as it comes with the hopeful intention of keeping my noticing alive. My noticing of a leaf color like a work of art. My noticing the clouds visiting the sky. My noticing of the tender light of dusk turning even the harsh landscapes golden. Tomorrow will hold a little more darkness yet some nights there will be stars.

tilt neither toward, nor away

acceptance lights us

tonight darkness leans closer

© Ali Grimshaw 2024

Join us at dVerse for a celebration of Haibun Monday: Equinox. HERE

Let there be no doubt – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 38 Comments

“Take bread away from me, if you wish, take air away, but
do not take from me your laughter.” – Pablo Neruda


Like rain on wildfire 
I am quenched by your voice.

I hadn't realized my shrunkenness
my dehydrated heart in wait.

Your laugh rippled across the crowd.
I could feel your presence of lightness in its cadence.

It is all the more precious to hear
knowing that life isn't easy for you.

Your laughter is like a defiant call
of the joy riding alongside the grief.

I feel it in my dancing bones
as I twirl toward your part of the floor.

© Ali Grimshaw 2024

This poem is dedicated to my friend, Valerie. Her laugh is steadfast and generous. It always makes my heart smile. Whose laugh lights up your day? I hope you will let them know. 

Join a welcoming group of poets at dVerse Poets' Pub for this poetics challenge. You can visit HERE.

Life is short, 
love big.

Ali




Before We Grew – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 32 Comments 
"Cause a little bit of summer is what the whole year is about." - John Mayer


blue bicycle with banana seat
pedaling freedom
handlebar tassels in the wind

berry-stained fingerprints
juice of summer gods
anointed by sunshine days

of tree limb lounging
bushwacking our trails
until the dinner-bell

dirt-clod fights 
"you're on our team"
where the good guys 
always win

© Ali Grimshaw 2024

Photo of Wakeena Falls, Oregon. It is one of my favorite places to hike to in the summer.

Visit a friendly poetry community at dVerse Poets’ Pub for Quadrille Monday. Join the fun HERE.

Observing – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 21 Comments 

And the rhythm continues, yellow round, orange round, red
tiny parts of bright aliveness making up the whole.
Are the boundaries holding us together or separating us by hue? 

Each is playing a part in the view. 
One beside the other, 
next two, in front of, beside. Are we leaning unequally
or holding each other up? 

How far would we need to back up 
before seeing the whole picture? Remember up close
never looks the same as from across the room. 

Squint your eyes a little. Now look again.

Notice how the colors grow toward midnight as it meets in the center. 
Could this be a reminder to see darkness as a place to rest 
maybe even a place of beauty 
instead of fighting our way to where we think we belong?

© Ali Grimshaw 2024

You are invited to dVerse Poets’ Pub to write something beautiful in response to this artwork by Alma Thomas, The Eclipse (1970). Join in the fun HERE. Thank you, Melissa, for getting me writing today. It felt like releasing a big sigh and the air returned to fill my lungs without effort.

Pause in the Produce – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 30 Comments 

Somewhere near the produce 
between the oranges and tumbling peppers 
a song, Ed Sheeran is singing
and the tears arrive, as I listen. 
(I don't usually cry in public but the emotion is undeniable.)
I am still as a river rock, while the shoppers flow around,
struck by hearing the words I couldn't hear before.
I let their message in 
feeling what you were trying to say. 
What I was unable to receive before.
I don't care that I am crying next to the bananas. 

It feels so good to be loved by you.
© Ali Grimshaw 2024

No Recording Exists – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 44 Comments 


a fantasy figment fell 
from the clouds

bounced off my head
into my heart

singing, I followed the
feeling of companionship

neighbors heard my song
dropped their projects
flung their phones
joined jubilance

parading down the street
we were something together

one gleeful song

© Ali Grimshaw 2024

Join a welcoming community of poets at dVerse Poets' Pub, HERE. Tonight's challenge - write a quadrille using the word figment.

Photo taken in Portland, Oregon. I am a fan of murals and always look for them when I travel.

LOVE in Capital Letters – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 16 Comments

“Human awe is an endangered species. Do not let your astonishment go extinct. Go wild for the wildness of your being.” – Andrea Gibson


how many days can you claim
bold aliveness

kindergarten eagerness
ignited intentions

bright contagiousness of
shared lifting

sky-filled unerasable strokes 
readable by all

baring yourself beautiful

with each word from your mouth
skinny-dipping freedom

because words of love
deserve all capitals
sing unification

undeniable

© Ali Grimshaw 2023

Photo taken in Portland, Oregon on my hike of "appreciating the flowering trees" this past weekend. They remind me to love big. I hope they inspire you to reach out to someone you have been missing.

My light is shining – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 14 Comments

A big thank you to editor Barbara Leonhard for publishing my poem, Words For Sale. This poem considers the value of poetry and the possibilities that a poem can offer. I invite you to visit MasticadoresUsa to read the poem, enjoy the poetry of others, and share your thoughts.

Thank you to all the readers that help keep poetry alive.

Make A Moment To Remember – Poem By Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 46 Comments 

When did your heart get trampled by disbelief 
forgotten in rushing reactivity
pushed aside by survival?

Are you willing to let it be revived?

You don't need to decide today.

I will take you with me, barefooted
brave and heartskipping.

Let's find a butterfly to wonder about.
Then later I can remember it with you
in the pictures of my mind.

© Ali Grimshaw 2024

Join a welcoming group of poets
for Open Link Night HERE at
dVerse Poets' Pub. 

Photo taken at Tuscon Botanical Gardens. They have an delightful butterfly exhibit. When was the last time you hung out with butterflies?

Wintertide – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 32 Comments 


In winter's grasp, we linger, longing for spring's embrace.
Does the waiting make arrival all the more precious?
A glowing light across the street reminds me of companionship.
Within these cold days gathering, we are the light for each other.
Together is our way forward toward blooming.

Often wintertide darkness can seem a season too long.
I cradle reminders of past flowers, new growth of green
wrapped in warm memories of meandering meadows wide.
While frost edges my windows in delicate design.
In winter's grasp, we linger, longing for spring's embrace.

© Ali Grimshaw 2024

dVerse Poets’ Pub Open Link Night. Join a friendly group of poets, HERE.