Dona Nobis Pacem – A poem by Ali Grimshaw

November 3, 2018November 3, 2018 ~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 30 Comments

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.

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

October 23, 2018 ~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 43 Comments

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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.

dVerse challenge Quadrille #67 – early

Visiting With Chaos – a poem by Ali Grimshaw

October 12, 2018 ~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 13 Comments

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

October 6, 2018October 12, 2018 ~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 20 Comments

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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.

She – a poem by Ali Grimshaw

September 29, 2018October 13, 2018 ~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 20 Comments

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.

Ripe – a poem by Ali Grimshaw

September 15, 2018October 12, 2018 ~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 42 Comments

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organic prizes tended affectionately

primed by summer’s passionate heat and BB King’s blues

quenching warmth, a gathering of sunlight kisses

red ripe to tango with your tongue and mine

slip into my backyard to delight in this tender flesh

this ready to please moment soon closed for the season.

dVerse Poetry Pub

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Right by your side

August 25, 2018August 24, 2018 ~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 13 Comments

you beside, never

behind, together we face

forward fearlessly.

CWW Photo Challenge

Senryu

I used to hold his hand – poem by Ali Grimshaw

August 10, 2018April 1, 2021 ~ Ali Grimshaw ~ Leave a comment

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Your separation started with a small knot, 
then the winding began.

Strings of storybooks, twined through nights
and days of countless fresh starts, repeating circles.

The looping of stories wound through our shared days. Up and down 
on the life school rollercoaster, back when I used to hold your hand.

Our faces in the wind a side by side scream of surprise
moments you reached out, adding to yourself
adding another layer of becoming.

While some saw mangled routes and loose ends 
I envied your brave expanding, overlapping leaps 
of curiosity to solidify your center.

Now you roll down new streets
with layers of perseverance over boyish charm
a masterpiece touching lives I will never meet.

I hope you never stop winding over that small knot,
tied while I watched.

This poem is dedicated to my two amazing sons. I am grateful to be your mother.

Not for purchase

July 23, 2018August 4, 2018 ~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 19 Comments

Your judgmental gaze cannot melt
the lines of my mistakes, they have become
collective beauty I hold as my reward for living
unimaginable shapes to fill with crayoned hues
I am my own coloring book
not available for purchase

The Gift of Chaos

Quote ~ July 21, 2018 ~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 11 Comments

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With all that is currently happening in the U.S. and the world, I feel the need to reshare this poem, Visiting With Chaos.There is an opportunity in the messiness of life. Will we choose to be loving learners or give up to fear?

Thank you to Vita Brevis, The Modern Poetry Magazine for publishing my poem. Click on the link to read it. – Visiting With Chaos

Sending love and a reminder that you are not alone.

Ali