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As I Sleep

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No sun shone

on Adam’s breast

when first his strength

was bled.

When sharp like a lion’s tooth

the milk of dreams flowed,

half the sea perished

stale with prehistoric lineage.

 

And under the rafters where

unborn children wait,

I dreamed of a world

invincible with perfect hunger,

inching out of each curse –

all armour shed.

I dreamed a second life where

tenderness abounded. In every

pyramid, pavilion, parental hand,

the secret light was saved. The ones

who sought did not seek again for

desert and grave were one. And the

salt and bone in each breathing body bent

toward the sun. No angels came, neither did visions

that gave a full understanding.

 

For what was not accepted or surrendered

was broken, pierced

by a savage love.

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Copyright © 1997 by Allison Grayhurst

 

amazon.com/author/allisongrayhurst

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First published in “Indigo Rising Magazine”, 2011

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You can listen to the poem by clicking below:

https://allisongrayhurst.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/as-i-sleep.m4a?_=1

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“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.