Blank Stare

Blank Stare

Sitting on the porch

disenchanted by complications

and by words that have no honour

or action. Thinking of the railroad

by the river where my dog and I were musical,

unaware of our short-lived joy.

I tried to triumph. I tried to stick

to the vision even when dismembered by

the axe and its hard, calculating strike.

I tried to rub out the sounds of dueling desires

and focus on the plateau.

Hour upon hour, my children are playing –

messy, free and pretending. On the porch

I watch them, and watching is

feeding me, freeing me

like looking into my dead father’s eyes

in a dream, in a moment meant to help me,

sent by angels, hailed as madness to most.

I hope for little traffic on my road.

I hope for 10 miles to feel myself fully connected

to the other parts of me

that are sometimes adrift, sometimes violently

speeding, and other times, only imagining

myself connected, imagining myself able to maintain

a forward motion, and not to fall back

into a comfortable place

of diminished expectations.

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Published in “Asian Signature, Volume 3, Issue 3” January 2016

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http://asiansignature.com/

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Published in “Grease Monkey Literary Forum” October 2015

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http://greasemonkeylit.blogspot.ca/2015/10/blank-stare-poem-by-allison-grayhurst.html

You can listen to the poem by clicking below:

“Allison Grayhurst intertwines a potent spirituality throughout her work so that each poem is not simply a statement or observation, but a revelation that demands the reader’s personal involvement. Grayhurst’s poetic genius is profound and evident. Her voice is uniquely authentic, undeniable in its dignified vulnerability as it is in its significance,” Kyp Harness, singer/songwriter, author.

“Allison Grayhurst’s poems are like cathedrals witnessing and articulating in unflinching graphic detail the gritty angst and grief of life, while taking it to rare clarity, calm and comfort. Grayhurst’s work is haunting, majestic and cleansing, often leaving one breathless in the wake of its intelligence, hope, faith and love amidst the muck of life. Many of Allison Grayhurst’s poems are simply masterpieces. Grayhurst’s poetry is a lighthouse of intelligent honour… indeed, intelligence rips through her work like white water,” Taylor Jane Green, Registered Spiritual Psychotherapist and author.

Reviews of ‘The Many Lights of Eden’:

“’The Many Lights of Eden’ is a journey: a journey of the heart through youth, anguish, struggle, spiritual awakening, grief, death, love, loss, guilt, struggle, despair, hope, surrender, God, sensuality, imperfection, motherhood, aging, the vanquishing of the devil, indeed, many devils, the inevitable fall from perfection and the casting off of old wineskins for a new one. Perhaps speaking of this book as a chronicle of spiritual maturing would be more accurate, the realization that there is spirituality within imperfection and that handmade temples cannot hope to compete with the spiritual temples within each of us. ‘The Many Lights of Eden’ is a diamond. It is a beautiful collection of insights. Allison Grayhurst’s thoughts and writings are a deep well. Drink from it, for the water is clear and crisp. This collection is a MUST-READ,” Eric M. Vogt, author of Letters to Lara and Paths and Pools to Ponder.

“I have been slow at responding to reviews for Allison Grayhurst due to summer’s busy days, however she brings life to each poem, heart to the images and everyone should have a collection of Grayhurst Poetry,” Ann Johnson-Murphree, poet.