Rain in the morning

Posted on by Allison Grayhurst

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Rain in the morning

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Rain in the morning,

grey steel is in the sky,

and in my eyes the colour

shows. The night’s fury kept me awake

since 3 am. My troubles are like spiders

that creep and curl along the

ceiling, hovering with the stillness

of death. I must keep going

though my body aches with fever

and my mind is prey to despair. I drink

necessity’s authority. To watch a loved-one suffer

is worse than shame, worse than feeling

futility collapse on your throat

or a weapon held at the head.

Rain in the morning. It is a mistake to

hurl the emptiness outward, to pray for the destroyed

or curse the goldfish for their beauty.

But who can give the minerals meaning,

magic to the snail, or purity to the worm?

Rain in the morning.

Little by little the terror rises,

and the world outside remains unchanged.

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Copyright © 1997 by Allison Grayhurst

3000

amazon.com/author/allisongrayhurst

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First published in “B-Gina Review”, 2012

B-Gina Review Rain 1B-Gina Review Rain 2B-Gina Review Rain 3

B-Gina Review Rain 4

http://bginareview.wordpress.com/2012/07/25/rain-in-the-morning/

http://www.scoop.it/t/b-gina-review-journal

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You can listen to the poem by clicking below:

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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.

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Reviews of  ‘Journey of the Awakening’:
“Journey of the Awakening is the first book of poetry that I have read of Allison Grayhurst. While reading it began to sound familiar, the comment to myself was “She is as good as Sylvia Plath”. When I finished the book I read comments from others who referred to her as “In the style of Sylvia Plath”; Ms Plath, one of my favorite poets had no match until Ms Grayhurst’s work. Congratulations to her on her achievements, I am already a ‘fan’, the love of her work will continue to grow,” Ann Johnson-Murphree, poet and author.
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“Grayhurst is a great Canadian poet. All of Allison Grayhurst’s poetry is original, sometimes startling, and more often than not, powerful. Anyone who loves modern poetry that does not follow the common path will find Grayhurst complex, insightful, and as good a poet as anyone writing in the world today. This, and other Grayhurst poetry volumes are highly, highly recommended,” Tom Davis, poet, novelist and educator.
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3 responses to “Rain in the morning”

  1. I did not talk to a single person today that did not tell me here in New Mexico that they had trouble sleeping last night. We have finally had a couple of nice, reasonably warm days, but mostly days of rain, snow, and cold, and they’re predicting more of the same for this weekend.
    I think we humans are always affected by weather, rain or snow, as the post office says, but also by
    …spiders
    that creep and curl along the
    ceiling, hovering with the stillness
    of death…
    and our troubles and this is all true:
    …To watch a love-one suffer is worse
    than shame, worse than feeling
    futility collapse on your throat
    or a weapon held at the head…
    at least in my life. It is also true that
    Little by little the terror rises,
    and the world outside remains unchanged.
    For all the world encroaches into our head and leaves us with our troubles, the world does remain unchanged, moving from season to season, year to year, decade to decade, century to century in its endless circles. As usual, Allison, this is really good poetry.

    Reply

  2. How we’d like the world to stop spinning, for even a moment, just a moment, to show us that our pain matters…as a child when I experienced a great loss, a death, I wondered why the world didn’t stop. At such a young age, I felt the passing endlessness of days.

    Reply

  3. What cathartic comfort for angst!
    You are the queen of cathartic comfort!
    Certain lines should go down in Bartlett’s Quotations.
    They boom like thunderous sharp true insight!
    “I drink necessity’s authority.”

    Reply

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