dVerse

Untitled – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 32 Comments 


She arrived alone.

An ocean away from her homeland
heart strong, with eagerness of empty hands.

Her name was Gunda
from the land of the Vikings
after legendary women of indomitable spirit.

What ways of living did she hold close
while settling in season after season
birthing babies her mother would never meet?

Did she ever regret leaving the nest
for this new unknown tree, after

she arrived alone?


© Ali Grimshaw 2025

This poem is in honor of my great-grandmother who came, by herself, to the U.S. from Norway when she was 18 years old. I don't know much about her but writing this made me curious and now I have fallen down a rabbit hole of websites to learn more.

The photo is a mural from Hillsboro, Oregon.

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How Many Boxes Lie Inside of You? – Poem By Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 49 Comments 

Within my rooted being lies a box of green
when the world becomes too loud for living
I retreat to this sanctuary of survival 
lined with dewy moss to quench and revive.

Within my rooted being lies a box of yellow
when heart is crushed by grief, weary from war
I find my way to this room of sunshine warm
with light to feel my pain, begin again.

Within my rooted being lies a box of clarity
when my feet have forgotten the feel of freedom
when my head spins in dismay
I hold my heart in both hands, ask for help
believing love is on the way. 

© Ali Grimshaw 2024

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box challenge - HERE.

Photo taken on a Oregon forest path.

Revolutionary – A Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 25 Comments

“Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart.”
― Corrie Ten Boom

a revolution of forgiveness
began echoing across

gently lit faces gathered
in the town square

hushed quietude for the promises
made together

then an overthrow
of rioting apologies

collapsed into laughter

leaving behind
their winter battlecoats of blame

they left warmer
arm in arm

© Alicia Grimshaw 2023

Quadrille #174: You say you want a revolution
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Photo taken in Vannes, France.

Chasing Waterfalls – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 22 Comments 
choices round
choices flat
choices show us
where we're at

choices lead us to the door
choices call us
scream for more

choices encircle or fence some out
choices whisper
sometimes shout

It is up to you 
what you find
to open up 
or close your mind.

©Ali Grimshaw 2022

Inspired by dVerse Poet's Pub
Prompt: Choices
you can join in HERE.

I am not sure what happened today. I never write rhyming poems.
This one wouldn't let me go.

Fragments of Joy – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 13 Comments 
Awe is the wisdom of sweet
sticky handed laughter.
Let loose to tumble through
doorways of my day.

Eyes of wonderful, cherishing
new gleam on faces found.

Mystery of how 
this connects to that
which we would have never 
guessed was related.

Unexpected sparkles 
in the corner.

© Ali Grimshaw 2021

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Jumping into August – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 37 Comments 
Dipping skinny-style, screaming out in glee, we entered the river to revive. Jumping away from the heated August afternoon only to return to the warm rocks and bask like turtles. Then followed hours of our rinse and repeat cycle as sunlight slid down the river. Summer freedom was its own kind of happy. Without the constraints of parents or the weight of planning for the future to come. We flew through the air trusting the pools to welcome us with a generosity that had held so many before our time. There were no thoughts of tomorrow.

bubbled free
water nymphs laze
summertide

©Ali Grimshaw 2021

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For Shelby – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 38 Comments 
"All you have to do is write one true sentence.
Write the truest sentence that you know."
― Ernest Hemingway

round and wound snugly tight
we wrapped you 
with pockets of air 
to let the cold hurt breathe
before exhaling it with the laughter 

each small stitch a holding
of our unraveled hearts 
circled colors hitched secure
with homemade memory patterns 
our shared stories under stars

love appliqued for the winter months
loops small and strong to hold your weight in the wind
to keep your dreams collectively connected
securely anointed with our goodbye tears
tucked in tight for all nights

you will never be left
outside this handwoven
circle of arms

in each departing hand
a yarn of length kept warm
to remember you
in tomorrow's pocket

©Ali Grimshaw 2021

Dedicated to Shelby Case, reporter, writer and friend.

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Photo take in Bellingham, WA.

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Snapshot – Poem By Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 61 Comments 
“Beautiful things don’t ask for attention.” 
– The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, 2013 –
your arms around me
encircled together
heart to heart

someday I will touch a photo
this moment's embrace
replaying this day

until then
I am noticing the feeling
while I still have you near

I am memorizing the shape
of holding you
holding me

©Ali Grimshaw 2021

Photo of my son and I on my birthday 2020. 

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Buoyancy

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 26 Comments 
once you were sure of steadiness
that capsizing only happened to others

then the tilting began, a slow 
deep lean to the left side of righteous

how easily the water seeped in, coldly 
chilling you from the inside out 

like the world had forgotten that you
had always been the floating kind

once you were rescued for no reason
and you never forgot that any boat can sink

when balance is lost at sea.

© Ali Grimshaw 2020

dVerse Poetry Challenge - Come Sail