once you were sure of steadiness that capsizing only happened to others then the tilting began, a slow deep lean to the left side of righteous how easily the water seeped in, coldly chilling you from the inside out like the world had forgotten that you had always been the floating kind once you were rescued for no reason and you never forgot that any boat can sink when balance is lost at sea. © Ali Grimshaw 2020 dVerse Poetry Challenge - Come Sail
She had forgotten the gleeful falling feeling of freedom what it was like to jump on purpose, instead of being pushed the bold thrill of shoulders back, above it all strong standing tall the moment when fear collides with aliveness a smirk of, "just watch me," on her face. She had forgotten why jumping had mattered to her. © Ali Grimshaw 2020
Photo taken years back in Maui. After I wrote this I had to go searching to find this photo again. A happy memory is always worth searching for.
Which way out? Down is upside down up is not what it used to be Which way to the familiar where the predictable seemed to be real? Which way to rise above the untaught history which left us blind? Which way forward to undo, redo, or never do again what once we did? What we weren't ready for or maybe never are, let's help each other rise let us begin again. © Ali Grimshaw 2020
Writing together provides a mirror for us to process life in a safe place where we have all agreed to listen with compassion. Thank you to all of you who have written with me in the last few months. I am so very grateful to share this journey with you. I have added this new date and time to open up the invitation to others in different time zones. Let’s connect across the boarders. Stay safe my friends.
tended affectionately organic prizes plumped primed by summer's passion heat and BB King's blues quenching warmth gathering of sunlit kisses red ripe to tango with your tongue and mine slip into my backyard delight in this tender flesh this ready to please moment of this temporary season. © Ali Grimshaw 2020 (rewrite from 2018)
Actions taken from love can never be regrets only open doors of possibility to step through. Doorways for light to shine in to shine out or meet in amplification. Welcoming visitors you once viewed as strangers now family members. An invitation to leave a room that doesn't serve you or is keeping you small. This door is locked on the inside a wish come true. You are free to leave anytime. © Alicia Grimshaw 2020 Photo take in on a trip to Amsterdam, 2019. Cee’s B&W Photo Challenge Word of the Day Challenge: Wish
My poem, A WHITE WOMAN ASKS HERSELF IF SHE IS THE ONE, is up on Visual Verse. Click on the link to read it. The photograph offered as the prompt brought up deep emotions for me. I hope you will visit Visual Verse to see it for yourself and read the many poems that it inspired.
Thank you to Visual Verse for sharing my words.
Visual Verse is a collaboration. An anthology of art, poetry, short fiction and non-fiction. Each month we supply a compelling image and invite writers – published or unpublished – to submit a piece in response.
Visual Verse is a celebration. Of the drama of seeing and the desire to express it. Of the things that inspire us, move us, and that we find hardest to articulate.
Visual Verse is a challenge. We offer you the chance to experience the rush of writing without overthinking. Sometimes strange, sometimes beautiful, let the picture be the start of something you can’t predict: your own response.
what you had always assumed to be solid, now is soggy sadness water warped windows with a view misguided, bent lines of memory altered truth to offer up unjustified reflections will you forgive yourself for all that was unseen before? © Alicia Grimshaw 2020 Photo take in Atlanta, Georgia
now, before the spark dims and doubt blankets your mind with too comfortable now, before familiar climbs onto your lap with worries, warmly weighty and resignation joins in to pull courage from the room now, before you forget the dreams of befriending a green tree of sunlight the touch of dragonfly landings. © Ali Grimshaw 2020 In this world of ever changing circumstances taking time to slow down with a poem and a small group of thoughtful people is, like a cool glass of water on a hot day, refreshing. I look forward to the opportunity to write with you. Writing together can: • Surprise and delight us • Allow expression of feelings in creative ways • Guide our own journey
Click on the links below for more information and registration.
hold spontaneity in one hand hold courage in the other after hesitation kisses you goodbye free fall 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
The world needs listeners now more than ever. My writing circles are designed to practice deep listening and reflective writing in small groups. I am starting up another four week writing series on the second week of July. Curious about weekly writing circles? Email me at coaching@aligrimshaw.com
flashlight batteries - Ali Grimshaw 