writing

Let’s Get Lost in a Poem – Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 20 Comments 
Poetry is truth in a universal language able to cross boundaries and reach the human heart. It is through our practice of listening deeply to poems, to ourselves and each other that the joy of connection is created within the writing circle. I am honored to hold space for your words and invite you to welcome them to the page. Let's get lost together as we write and reflect. Join me for an upcoming writing circle. Fill your heart. 

Let's get lost 
in beauty of the waves.
Put the needle on the record
of this day,
live simply so others may
simply live
to delight in all good things
wild and free.

© Ali Grimshaw 2021

Writing Circles Nourish Us

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 11 Comments
Community of Leaves, Portland, Oregon
Willing Hearts

Separated
by time
and space
Yet, 
physical distance
holds no power
over hearts
willing to listen
and reflect-
Not actually separated 
after all

By Kelley Morris
You can find more of her poems here
pianogirlthoughts

I have never met Kelley in person but I feel
connected to her. We were once strangers
living in separate states, then she joined a
writing circle. I listen to her words and I
came to know her. Coming together, with
women like Kelley, across physical distance
to cherish poems and write together is
generating hope. It is my heartwork to
facilitate a safe space for you to hear your
own voice and experience authentic connect
with others through writing together. I have
written with people from Europe, Canada and
all over the U.S, and every time we are
inspired by the circle.

Thank you Kelley for sharing your voice.

Curious about giving it a try? Sign up below.

Register on Eventbrite

Poems from the Circle

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 16 Comments
Brooklyn Bridge 2019

sky

I see the sky,
the blue, the cloud; and
at night, the stars,
the moon, the planets.

You see the sky,
don’t you?
the same sky…yes?

Could it be, that
although the miles,
our experiences,
separate us…
we are still connected?

We are the same.
you are here and I am there,
or I am here and you are there.

The same sky…wherever we are.

Carrie Cannady
October 14, 2020
You can find more of Carrie's poems 
and reflective wisdom 
here at Leadourlives.net
I am grateful for Carrie’s permission 
to share her poem from the writing 
circle here. I continue to meet 
amazing women across different time 
zones. Writing together provides a 
mirror for us to process life in a 
safe place where we have all agreed 
to listen with compassion. 
Interested in joining a writing circle? 
Email met at coaching@aligrimshaw.com

365 Pages of 2018 – a poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 22 Comments

IMG_0390

I wrote across
and down the page
sometimes diagonal doodles
to break through lines
that I refused, not willing
to be penned in.
Editing bled and tore through
to pages underneath.
Grateful for a thick tablet
layers of mistakes on the way to golden
this party called life, waking up
to attend, embrace the tousled mess
tumbles, triumph, trembles of love
that live outside of words.
The minutes are not guaranteed
savor this very one.

© Ali Grimshaw 2018

Each year I celebrate getting to live another year by writing a birthday poem. I hope this inspires you to author your life. What story are you writing this year? These bloggers have inspired my next chapter; Debbie at Forgiving Connects , Colleen at The Chatter Blog, Val at Find Your Middle Ground, Miriam at Out an’ About, and Brad at Writing To Freedom

Here is the link to last year’s birthday poem 365 Pages.

May love touch your day.

Ali

Fall Will Catch You – a poem by Ali Grimshaw

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 28 Comments

image

Painted leaves sing in unison
Unlike music, their song
is soundless harmony.

This orchestra of color
soothes the tempo
an internal pounding

from a day of instruments
that refused to play
the same song.

Fall catches me
with muted volume
a serenade of equilibrium.

© Alicia Grimshaw 2018

If Poets Ruled The World

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 28 Comments

 

If you brought poetry to your exhale

how would you breathe?

If you brought poetry to your cooking

how would it taste?

If you brought poetry to your singing

how would it sound?

If we brought poetry to the conversation

what would we hear?

Would we notice the moan of wind outside our arguments

that the water from the pipes is at a trickle, our absent neighbors

don’t stand in the front yard anymore, weeds thrive

overtaking the edible garden, while last year’s birdhouse

remains empty? A muffled fear

like cotton balls in our ears.

 

If I lived poetry

could I see the heart

underneath your skin?

 

© Alicia Grimshaw 2018

“Poetry, whether the writing itself is explicitly political or not, always seeks a better way to respond, to think, to live.” – E. Ce Miller, writer, journalist

Sharing this great quote from Moorezart

 

 

 

Unravel an opening

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 48 Comments

img_0282

It is a continual process to unweave
that which is truth from story. I pull

a thread, remove one line, observe how
the fabric changes, notice the new spaces

breathing between essential threads
that remain, a skeleton of existence

until extracting the unneeded
leaves what is left, sparsely resilient

penetrable light of a future once blocked
by memories tightly woven.

© Alicia Grimshaw 2018

CB&W Photo Challenge

Forgiving Fridays

Growth Spurt

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 35 Comments

In the dark kitchen while all lay asleep
I stood shorter than the countertop
determined to throw away my blanket of comfort
self worn to soft holding of me.

The mouth of the garbage can
that lived under the sink
hungry for layers of softness
swallowed them down easily.

My four year old self threw away weakness
like an explorer sailing to uncharted seas
I declared myself ready for the mystery of the grown up.

Without need for a fall back into security
how sure I was of my power to leave the shore
of my dearly loved comfort layer.

Where did the urgency come from
to stop leaning
depending on
go it alone without reliance?

Years later in my cold bed determined and proud
still I wonder why I needed to prove my toughness
hurry away from childhood.

© Alicia Grimshaw 2018

dVerse Open Link Night #226