This calm is only an illusion
a photographic alteration
of a moment, where
leaves confetti-whirl, flutter fly, fancifully
surfing wild winds with surrender.
Smiling, I accept their invitation to frolic
following one golden riffle
then a tangerine-red
in beautiful celebration
of all things temporary.
© Ali Grimshaw 2025
Join a welcoming group of poets at dVerse Poets’ Pub.
Quadrille Monday. HERE
Photo taken on one of my many walks through Amsterdam in 2019.
teapot with toaster
smokey skies, lost hope
bridges, boundaries
hints of forgiveness, open passageways
returning again to locked doors
rainboots greeting purposeful puddle stomping
associations that may or may not
be related depending on who is listening
what will you put with that word?
© Ali Grimshaw 2025
Visit a friendly poetry community at dVerse Poets’ Pub for Quadrille Monday.
Join the fun HERE.
Photo taken of the St. John’s Bridge, Oregon.
Ms. Sunset is visiting earlier
Mr. Freeze is on his way
Who, how, and what
will get you through
nightchill of dark dampness?
His voice warming?
Her listening light from miles away?
Spotify playlists, kitchen dances
singing in candlelight?
What'll it be?
Suggestions welcomed.
© Ali Grimshaw 2024
If you have experienced SAD then you know if can be very impactful. If you haven't yet made a plan to support yourself through the dark months then there is no better time than today. Don't hesitate to reach out for support along the way. You are not alone.
It’s Quadrille Monday at dVerse Poets' Pub.
Come join the fun HERE.
"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.
Sometimes the light turns red before we have left the intersection leaving our tail end vulnerable sometimes our brakes don’t work, spinning on black ice with blurred windows of reaction sometimes we must go slowly, inching through the fog in faith blinded by dense thoughts sometimes breakdowns leave us on the rainy roadside unpacking resourcefulness sometimes forgiveness shows up like an invitation an off-ramp never seen before sometimes we just need to stay on the road grip and steer This was written in 2019 and still resonates with me today. This driving metaphor definitely places me in a car-centered culture. Each of us is navigating our way through the day. Be kind and assume the best intentions of others.
Join a welcoming group of poets for Open Link Night -dVerse Poets’ Pub HERE.
I took this photo in Lisbon, Spain. Such a fun curve in the street.
Posted on The Drabble in 2022. You can find some great short poems on this site.
Precious is the quiet morning when I sit to breathe, just breathe. The highway hum in the distance, accompanied by a faint unknown rumble, and the caws of a bird, are heard in this stillness. How often does the environment around me go unnoticed as I am going about my day? The box of my mind has me doing and going. The senses of my body are left behind. Every time I stop, and return to my breath throughout the day, I return to a conscious noticing. It is then that I return to my body. My arms, my legs, my heart, and my mind are one again. There is a relief in just breathing.
When I first tried meditation is was unaccessible. Stillness did not feel safe. Letting go was scary. I lived in protection mode and this surrender to motionless living was a foreign land. Bit by bit I have found peaceful connection and I am grateful for all the guides who have helped me along the way.
constricted muscles
seek winter sunlight, birds perch
pause to exhale pain
© Ali Grimshaw 2024
Join me at dVerse Poets' Pub for
Haibun Monday 1-29-24: Breath
Photo taken during our most recent ice storm. It is a close up of the beautiful frost on my bathroom window.
“Air and light heal; they somehow get into those dark, musty places, like spiritual antibiotics.” – Anne Lamott
the need for skin on skin cool water on fevered temples being seen for who you are laughter around a full table help arriving on the horizon restfulness where the body returns to the ground floor in full abandon unexpected sunlight through winter windows holding hands with hurting hearts shelter of a single tree the surprise of a red flower © Ali Grimshaw 2023 Photo taken in Ethiopia 2023.
When the crack widens to an unknown view
fear can squeeze in between rough edges of darkness
quickly slide in, expanding like a balloon
barricade of shadow to seal the entrance.
Yet seekers of light will never be dismayed by tricks of perspective
their wisdom of the season’s shifting songs sing them forward.
When eyes look with love, illumination is present for all
allowing forgiveness to set another place at the table
where lanterns burn long into the night.
© Ali Grimshaw 2019
Dedicated to all of those who make the world a better place by generously giving their light.
If you happen to be in Vancouver BC, Canada on Saturday December 21, check out their 26th Annual Winter Solstice Lantern Festival put on by the Secret Lantern Society. Even if you can’t go, you will find their website inspiring with free community events including a labyrinth of light and workshops to make lanterns. What beauty communities can create when they come together.
Where do you go after
you’ve swept up a dusty decade?
Voices of memories, dialogues of decisions
glinting pieces of effort,
shambled shards of mixed failures and gritty grains
of overcoming the odds. The minutes after
the disposal of what was,
a pause before, you’ve put away the broom.
Clean floor, the past no longer felt
between your toes.
craters of care
shadow marked attempts
deeply rutted thinking paths
(your footprints alongside mine)
from days of trying again and
our laughter in piles around the room
you are there in all the footsteps
of my mind.
© Ali Grimshaw 2019
“footsteps of the mind” – Tuesday writing challenge at Go Dog Go Cafe
flashlight batteries - Ali Grimshaw 