even encased, your
vibrancy cannot be held
captive, you gleam on
© Ali Grimshaw 2018
poem
Slightly to the right – poem by Ali Grimshaw
One step to the right
not a stretch, just a nudge
shift of weight to the side.
One step away, between
worry and what if?
Landscape of exhaustion
or a horizon of possibility.
Not a marathon, nothing to train for,
just one
small
step.
Get your shoes on.
wonder is waiting.
© Ali Grimshaw 2018
Resharing one the most liked posts from this year.
Sending the light of hope your way.
My light is shining
Thank you to Vita Brevis Poetry Magazine for publishing my poem,
What the Grieving Seek, this month. It is an honor to have my words shared on this poetry journal. Vita Brevis (life is short) aims to publish work that shows a keen awareness of not only art’s beauty and longevity but life’s toils and finiteness.
Please click on the above link to give my poem a visit.
May poetry touch your day.
Ali
Sandals in November – A poem by Ali Grimshaw
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.
© Ali Grimshaw 2018
Finding Fault – Poem by Ali Grimshaw
Blame is an easy
coat to wear, it’s large pockets
empty promises
© Ali Grimshaw 2018
“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
Dona Nobis Pacem – A poem by Ali Grimshaw
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Through the fearful thoughts, clashed conflict
of what might be, we always have a choice
to speak love, listen behind and underneath
the words of others for the common thread
that we hold. A line of connection
alive with the many lives that have held it.
Feel the yank of one who is pulled away
the space empty, thread loosely lost to hang
without warm hands to hold it.
Hands that may be the only ones
to keep us unraveling.
© Ali Grimshaw 2018
If it wasn’t for blogging I know I wouldn’t stop to write poems and writing them gives me the life I want to live. So, thank you fellow bloggers for the opportunity to reflect and connect across the oceans and to speak for peace today. We can change the world one conversation at a time. The world needs each one of us. Please keep your light on.
Join in at Blog4peace.com
Remembering
You always asked me why,
how did leaves change color
giggling from the red wagon
I pulled around the block.
As the leaves parade, an early flaming row
burned into memory, your voice
is missing in the trees.
Wishing it returned
with the falling.
© Ali Grimshaw 2018
dVerse challenge Quadrille #67 – early
Visiting With Chaos – a poem by Ali Grimshaw
Spills splattered the walls.
Counters filled with clutter,
multiple piles creating a new geography in the room.
There is a relief to cleaning it all away.
Everything in order. Repair and replace.
The seduction of a new cycle, sparkling clean.
Free from marks of history.
What if we could sit with Chaos
for just a little minute?
Feel the wind in our ears.
Hearing her secrets of cleverness.
To soak in the learning of this undone space.
Before an opportunity is erased.
A past disinfected before she can author her story
from which the plot differs from
perpetual duplicating.
First published on Vita Brevis
Lull – a poem by Ali Grimshaw
Leaves play tag in the breeze
as cars chase green lights.
I am the only stillness
in the city this hour.
Living without permission
no need to ask, “Am I allowed?”
The leaves don’t ask to dance
down the cracked sidewalk.
I grant myself this moment
this sunlight soak before
winter darkness.
© Ali Grimshaw 2017
She – a poem by Ali Grimshaw
She learned to take herself
out of her body, to separate
no longer be encased by flesh.
She learned to go, bundle her spirit
carry it out and away, above the invasion
the uninvited intolerable penetration.
She learned numbness, not to be
within her skin, to pack up her
soul and exit, just until it was over.
She learned how,
survival was her teacher.
It was the only way.
She didn’t know help
with mouth stitched closed
only endurance walked with her.
© Alicia Grimshaw 2018
flashlight batteries - Ali Grimshaw 