Doorway to Forgiveness

July 30, 2017July 30, 2017 ~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 10 Comments

Dulled by time, the dusty door

coated from years of holding back

nailed shut, painfully impassable

darkness left sealed for so long

you can’t remember it ever being open.

Bewildered frustration, heat rises

sweat drips down your chest

fury and defeat of stones tied to feet.

This emotional cycle circles through

each day as you stand before it.

Maybe it isn’t possible to reopen

you are so small.

But look

you still hold the hammer in your hand

the key dangles from your back pocket.

In honor of Forgiving Fridays on Forgiving Connects

Thank you

June 28, 2017July 3, 2017 ~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 14 Comments

My poems, 32 Degrees and Bouncing Bullets, have been shared on The Drabble. This blog is dedicated to publishing original fiction, non-fiction, and poetic works of 100 words or less. If you enjoy creativity and concise writing this blog is for you. Thank you to The Drabble for creating and supporting a community of writers. Through poetry we can calm our minds, share the human experience and laugh together to keep our sanity.

Make it a beautiful day.

Lessons

June 18, 2017June 17, 2018 ~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 12 Comments

How do you capture

a lifetime of fatherhood

put it down on the page?

Your voice in times of doubt

your hand on my shoulder

your cup always half full.

Yet, it wasn’t what you said

year after year that I remember most

you stood beside

you held up others

you lead with love.

You showed me.

Dedicated to my dearly loved father, Thomas Jenkins, who has fathered many over the years as an educator and coach. No words will ever be enough to tell you how much I love you.

My light is shining. Thanks VerseWrights.

April 10, 2017 ~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 14 Comments

I am grateful to VerseWrights for sharing two more of my poems today. Follow the link to find them. VerseWrights is a wonderful online poetry journal. I especially enjoy listening to the PoetryAloud section. There are so many poems to listen to and it gives me a sense of comfort to connect with another’s words.

We all have gifts to share. Please keep shining your unique and essential light in the world.

Drawing a house

January 13, 2017January 13, 2017 ~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 15 Comments

What do you hold onto

when the bottom drops out

leaving you foundationless?

Your roof carried away by a tornado.

Left only with blankness and a pen

you forgot was in your hand.

I draw myself a new house

windows of openness, a tin roof to hear rain

a welcome door without requirements

with the hope that you feel safe enough to visit.

Uncensored, just as you are not

when you leave the premises.

365 pages

January 2, 2017 ~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 16 Comments

Out of an infinite number of stories ending this year

how lucky am I to continue mine.

To understand, as I didn’t before

how to see the next blank page

author what is left.

To smear the words by numbing

or battle to awaken the next chapter,

an internal fight rekindled by rewrites.

Still awed by the power of dusk to soften the view

I choose to attend this party called life.

Many minutes are not guaranteed.

I savor this very one.

Each year I celebrate the gift of getting to live another year by writing a birthday poem. This is my poem for 2016. I don’t have the words to clearly express the layers of learning, global connection and inspiration I found by jumping into the world of blogging this year. Thank you to WordPress for making it possible and to the many, many kind bloggers who offered support. I am honored to have a poem chosen by the Drabble as one of the top ten editor’s picks for the year. Ten of our favorite Drabbles of 2016. I hope this inspires you to share your voice in 2017.

Discover Challenge – Retrospective