Call to service – July 4

July 4, 2019July 4, 2019 ~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 20 Comments

I notice,
I remember,
yet I have no idea
what you gave for
my freedoms.

I see,
I listen for,
those without,
who don’t
have freedom yet.

I pray,
that we never stop,
reaching toward each other
with open hands.

Happy July 4th.
Let’s not let the past stop us from creating the future.

Cultivate – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

April 21, 2019May 27, 2019 ~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 57 Comments

Shadowed understory no longer needed
sprout through old layers of indecision
boldly bolt toward sunlight to come.

Regardless of broken branches,
depleted soil from years
of growing the same crops.

Angle for full height, extension
of reach, beyond what is
expected of your species.

Grow yourself beyond
the gardens of your past
self.

“Both abundance and lack exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend.” – Sarah Ban Breathnach

Forgiving Connects

Open Link Night – d’Verse Poets Pub

Looking Glass

March 16, 2019March 30, 2019 ~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 33 Comments

fullsizeoutput_5be

With the brokenness

there is a choice

to hear the mirror
or bury that which you won’t face.
Without any proof
I know you can do the hard things.
It is courage coupled with action
that matters after we fall.

Brave has always

lived inside of you,

printed in bold letters.
Step forward
cloaked in courage to

pick up only the pieces that

are worth keeping.

Cee’s Black and White photo challenge

Forgiving Connects

Pulse – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

February 11, 2019April 7, 2019 ~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 64 Comments

among fallen plaster of
disrepair, wrinkles of error
some think irredeemable

your locked layers of reasons
defenses built room by room
the unkissable past revealed

you wait for the wrecking ball
Yet I hear a heartbeat not broken
beyond salvage

your pulse sings strong.

dVerse – Quadrille

Forgiving Fridays

Photo taken in Venice, Italy

Wade in the river

January 12, 2019 ~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 25 Comments

3335CE24-4D49-4D43-B198-C2664EA6CA47

Knee deep in, “I can’t believe I said that.”

Toes numbed by the cold reality

while echoed words play inside your head.

Let the current caress errors of grime

wash away the mistaken mud of this day

to return to the raw, tender tingle.

Step out onto the bank of clean sheets

let new beginnings drip from your feet.

d’Verse Poets Pub

Forgiving Connects – Forgiving Fridays

Sandals in November – A poem by Ali Grimshaw

November 18, 2018October 15, 2019 ~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 37 Comments

They called her crazy
an attempt to freeze her with jeers
never understanding
that she chose
to avoid too much comfort.

Empathy would always
be her closest friend
arm in arm, they would
walk in sandals through
November frost.

Warmed by desire
for connection.
A step toward those
who had no shoes.

Quote

Forgiving Fridays

Finding Fault – Poem by Ali Grimshaw

November 4, 2018February 12, 2019 ~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 22 Comments

Blame is an easy

coat to wear, it’s large pockets

empty promises

“The impulse to create begins – often terribly and fearfully – in a tunnel of silence. Every real poem is the breaking of existing silence, and the first question we might ask any poem is, What kind of voice is breaking silence, and what kind of silence is being broken?” ~ Adrienne Rich

An invitation from now until November 6 to share poems of witness by advocating for justice, making a stand for equity, speaking up and out against injustice, hatred and bigotry. #poemsofwitness