Between each breath
one, maybe two seconds at most,
a tiny space of nothingness.
My passport can’t get me there.
Driving faster, running harder,
multitasking while eating lunch
working later, doing more…
no closer to my destination.
“Where would you like to travel to?” they ask.
someplace between
inhale
and exhale.
© Ali Grimshaw
Slanderous words,
sharp and sticky abound.
Potentially murderous voices shoot out
yet ricochet off the innocent assemblage
surrounded by love, like bubble wrap.
A deadly collection of letters,
bouncing back to their owners.
While the souls remain
cloaked in truth,
“Those words aren’t us.”
No need for bulletproof vests to repel them.
Let them decay on the street
the street cleaner will dispose of them
before morning light.
© Ali Grimshaw
To the many grieving today for US Veterans who are not longer with us, those struggling to still get through each day and for the families of all veterans. Thank you for your sacrifice.
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
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 