I miss the days of your eyes,
a yearning treasure seeker,
when I was the X on your map.
© Ali Grimshaw
Portugal 2017
National Poetry Month 2018
Safety Net
I will embrace you
in this house of circumstance
walls cracked and cratered
plaster fallen failures.
Shelter you with my being
through the unavoidable crumbling
a steel umbrella in the storm.
I gave grown capable of being
the shelter, like the arch of
protection you once were
for me. I am solid
even as the erosion continues
with you under my wings.
© Ali Grimshaw 2018
April 26: Poem in Your Pocket Day – celebrate by selecting a poem, carrying it with you and sharing it with others throughout the day and on social media using the hashtag #pocketpoem. Share a poem that got you through a hard time or one that makes you laugh. Touch someone’s heart.
Morning Newsbreak
The 5:00 am thud,
my front porch newspaper.
When will this sound disappear
from my listening landscape?
Like the comfort
of sounds, predictable life
before the robots were made.
When hands held headlines
faithful objects, a lifeline
of interpretation on paper thinness
read in gentle openness
played at morning speed of drowsy slow
accompanied by the aroma of coffee.
The illusion of a day with
news within my control.
© Ali Grimshaw 2018
“It is difficult to get the news from poems yet men [and women] die miserably every day for lack of what is found there.”—William Carlos Williams
13 Ways to Support Poetry – guest blog post by Dick Allen – A great article with specific ways to keep poetry alive in the world.
dVerse OpenLinkNight #218 – If you are looking for a community of poets you can find one here.
National Poetry Month – Fall in love with a poet.
Thanks for keeping the door unlocked
If you are wondering
doubting,
don’t give up. Stay.
Someone loves the light
only you can be.
© Ali Grimshaw 2018
National Poetry Writers Month 2018 – Click to read more poems.
Always Available 24/7
Never preoccupied by screens screaming
unknown friends, nor business buzzing heads.
Mine sit in wait, pocket ready, stacked bedside,
cursive faded on the bathroom mirror. Ever-ready
to ask courageous questions, reassuring palms
warmly press down on my shoulders. They lead
remind from behind, cocoon me from nightmare bombs
and disappearing green, when my inside raisins.
Trustworthy friends of ink, folded and unfolded
because the need is so great.
© Ali Grimshaw 2018
This poem was inspired by the following quote from John Adams. “You will never be alone with a poet in your pocket.”
Ars Poetica – d’Verse
National Poetry Month – Fall in love with a poet.
Photo by Pixabay free images.
Love Louder
Can two words be enough,
make a poem on their own
to shake the passers by awake.
Just a couple, woven into
the fabric of an ordinary day?
Please tell me they can.
© Ali Grimshaw 2018
Photo of a local high school fence, Oregon
My light is shining
Thank you Ghost City Review for publishing my poem, The Passing Judgement Of Those Walking By, this month. Ghost City Press is based in Syracuse, NY. Their goal is to provide a platform for the exhibition of work by new and emerging writers and artists in the online literary community. They publish writers who understand the complexities of the world we live in and who reflect this in their work.
We all have poetry inside us. How different the world would be if this were believed.
Make yours a day of wondrous words.
Ali
Second Chances
what must we pay for
our history, a fresh start
seaward in one boat.
© Alicia Grimshaw 2018
Na/GloPoWriMo – April is National/Global Poetry Writers Month
Haiku Horizons
Wisdom of a sunflower
Her face follows the sun
an anchor of light, trusted to lead while she grew
a warmth of reassurance when her sight was lost
from darkness. A seed born with the knowing
yet unable to realize until the day of blossoming.
She held it all along. Resolve of love, strength to push
through the compacted soil of failure, to stretch
when trampled, to believe in the next dawn
while she remained in the shadow of night.
© Ali Grimshaw 2018 – photo taken on a roadtrip in Spain
“Like sunflowers that stop tracking the sun as they mature, we too begin to respond differently to life as we age. We learn to brave more parts of the day with our heads turned away from the sun, because we realize that we can only know who we are if we let the sun shine behind us and allow it to draw our shadow in front of us, so that we may see how we are really shaped.
We begin to realize how even darkness has its gifts, and how even if we don’t always bask in the light, we can survive.” – When Sunflowers Stop Following The Sun
I was inspired to write this poem after reading this thoughtful article. Never underestimate the power of sharing with careful words.
flashlight batteries - Ali Grimshaw 