writing

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

Not for purchase

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 19 Comments

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Your judgmental gaze cannot melt
the lines of my mistakes, they have become
collective beauty I hold as my reward for living
unimaginable shapes to fill with crayoned hues
I am my own coloring book
not available for purchase

© Alicia Grimshaw 2018

The Gift of Chaos

Quote ~ ~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 11 Comments

Enlight22

With all that is currently happening in the U.S. and the world, I feel the need to reshare this poem, Visiting With Chaos.There is an opportunity in the messiness of life. Will we choose to be loving learners or give up to fear?

Thank you to Vita Brevis, The Modern Poetry Magazine for publishing my poem. Click on the link to read it. – Visiting With Chaos

Sending love and a reminder that you are not alone.

Ali

 

A benevolent view

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 24 Comments

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what you had always assumed

to be solid, now soggy sadness

water warped windows with

a view misguided, bended

memories altered the truth

will you forgive yourself

for all that was unseen before?

 

© Alicia Grimshaw 2018

Forgiving Fridays at Forgiving Connects

Let me

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 22 Comments

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I will sing you comfort when your voice forgets the notes.

I will sing you a clearing to feel the warmth on your back.

I will sing you courage for days when you need to hear the music again.

I will sit in silence listening to your song

when you have forgotten it exists.

© Alicia Grimshaw 2018

Her Why

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 16 Comments

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It went around her neck, a symbol smooth of warmth

concise clarity, just enough weight to feel the ground

hold onto when her confidence didn’t show up for work.

 

It replaced her doubts packaged with strings of anxiety

long ago shipped on away. Her essential purpose

written to last, needed all of the available room.

 

The chain lay lightly on her chest, polished by her daily reaching.

She was never without it, the promise made for small faces

their eyes questions from a future she would never see.

 

© Alicia Grimshaw 2018

“He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.” – Nietzsche