In beauty’s shadow
a crisp line, clearly defined
elegance of shape
where darkness and light kiss,
yet keep their boundaries
brought forth by the sunlight
and those who choose to stand in it.
© Alicia Grimshaw 2017
Photo by Kirsten Schwabel (Thank you Kirsten for the beauty.)
Happy National Poetry Day 2017
Something other than sleep
more like jumping into water of coolness.
Not dreamland, but renewal of returning,
more like the thrill of meeting someone new,
in the skin of an old friend.
Diversion from daily tunnels of thought.
When was the last time your bare feet felt
the smooth tile of the lobby?
The feel of breath leaving your body
an elevator going down
a return to the ground floor.
An entrance to rest.
© Alicia Grimshaw 2017
Photo from Pixabay
© Ali Grimshaw 2017
She knew what must be done
while fear sliced through her
cutting deeply
unwavering was her stance.
she had learned
pain was only temporary
what mattered was
her soul
was in one piece.
© 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.
Soaking 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.
© Alicia Grimshaw 2016
Could this be the final day
of an autumn that I thought would last?
A mellowing of red between us
once crackling emotions now dust bits
collected in a whirling dervish
carried away in the wind.
Now I am an empty street waiting
for the street light to click on.
Predictable and ever awed
by the chance
to begin again.
© Ali Grimshaw
Coveting the minds of others,
organized, tidy, following clear roads.
Traveling to a chosen destination
efficiently arriving on time.
Dreary, weary, defeat haunts her
relapsing into the darkness of a mind off course.
Moving toward an endless horizon
without a line between earth and sky
to distinguish
what hole she fell into
this time.
© Ali Grimshaw
You have landed
in your own pond
sending out rings
your circles overlapping those of
other rocks who have taken the plunge.
I cannot see the ripples
you will make in others’ lives.
Yet, I know they exist. As I have
felt your wholeness in our embrace.
I see you time and again, resurfacing.
The shine in your eyes,
never to be the same
only brighter.
© Ali Grimshaw
Head down, back bent,
climbing back into yourself
fear perspiring on your forehead.
Looks like you could use a lift.
Travel forward with me
I will steer for awhile.
You can coast.
I will pedal out the questions.
You can consider answers.
Life can be different
on a bicycle built for two.
© Ali Grimshaw
flashlight batteries - Ali Grimshaw 