hold spontaneity in one hand
hold courage in the other
after hesitation kisses you goodbye
jump into your future
let possibility
fully fill your lungs
float untethered, without
holding your breath
until the shore
disrobes the fog
then swim with the passion
of another year
you never thought
you would have.
© Ali Grimshaw 2019
d’Verse Poets Pub – Theories of Everything
The photo was taken in Portland, Oregon – Inspiring quote by Brene Brown
© Ali Grimshaw 2019
THE SOUL BOX PROJECT is a national community art project calling for the making of one hand-folded paper box to represent every person killed or injured by gunfire in the U.S. since 2014. Hundreds of thousands of these Boxes will be displayed together in massive art installations to reveal the staggering number of gunfire victims.
If you are near Portland, Oregon you can fold boxes on the second Wednesdays of the month from 4 – 6:30 pm at the THE CENTER FOR SPIRITUAL WELLBEING, 7100 SW HAMPTON ST SUITE 126 PORTLAND, OR 97223
Find out more at SoulBoxProject.org
“The point is, art never stopped a war and never got anybody a job. That was never its function. Art cannot change events. But it can change people… because people are changed by art – enriched, ennobled, encouraged – they then act in a way that may affect the course of events… by the way they vote, they behave, the way they think.” – Leonard Bernstein
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.
© Ali Grimshaw 2019
Open Link Night – d’Verse Poets Pub
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, with 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
Poem in Your Pocket Day 2019 is on April 18 and is part of National Poetry Month. On this day, select a poem, carry it with you, and share it with others at schools, bookstores, libraries, parks, workplaces, street corners, and on social media using the hashtag #pocketpoem.
An inner dissection
sections of her heart
thinly unlayered, to find
the magnificence of awe
that used to be part of her.
Faded peak moments mapped
on her skin. Elevations reached
and fallen from while yearning
changed her topography.
Thoughts of who
she could become, still
a proposed expedition.
© Alicia Grimshaw 2019
She never failed
to float him beyond
the current of his day.
He never resisted
slipping away with her
curved sides just right
perfect in their holding space
arcs to part waves
when he needed release
she took him far from shore
her motor always finely tuned
of that he made sure never to neglect.
© Ali Grimshaw 2019 (Rewrite from 2017)
I’m so excited that it’s NaPoWriMo again. NaPoWriMo is an annual poetry challenge that takes place in April. The idea is to write a poem a day resulting in 30 poems in total. The NaPoWriMo site provides prompts if you want to use them. I have added to this challenge by reading poems every day of the month from several different sources. Click on the icon above to join in.
Unfurl toward the sunlight,
Ali
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
Behind, underneath yet also intertwined
with softly sounded movement of bees
yet not quite a song, of all that generates
thrives for growth beyond survival music.
These background singers of inspired hum
as I branch out toward new sky, consider
a transplant beyond my container
soil in colors my roots have never reached.
© Ali Grimshaw 2019
Photo taken Kauai, Hawaii 2018
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.
© Ali Grimshaw 2019
flashlight batteries - Ali Grimshaw 