Preparing
.
I go to the crosswalk
and leave my bread crumbs on the other side.
I am waiting for motivation, for a clarity of purpose
that I once owned like a beautiful stone
I sunk under the St. Lawrence rapids. When I was a child,
I watched those rapids without fear,
stood close to the edge and never wondered
about the slippery underfoot,
never worried about the shadflies arriving like a plague of river insects
or about my loneliness that turned into a ghost companion
comforting me in those grey Quebec afternoons.
But here, in this riverless realm,
I cannot place my hands down. I cannot stretch wide enough
to feel whole. I go to the corner store and hear answers that only I
and the birds
can hear.
.
.
Copyright © 2011 by Allison Grayhurst
amazon.com/author/allisongrayhurst
.
First published in “Gloom Cupboard”, 2013
http://gloomcupboard.com/2011/11/17/poetry-139/
.
You can listen to the poem by clicking below:
.
.
“Allison’s poetic prose is insightful, enwrapping, illuminating and brutally truthful. It probes the nature of the human spirit, relationships, spirituality and God. It is sung as the clearest song is sung within a cathedral by choir. It is whispered as faintly as a heartbroken goodbye. It is alive with the life of a thousand birds in flight within the first glint of morning sun. It is as solemn as the sad-sung ballad of a noble death. Read at your peril. You will never look at this world in quite the same way again. Your eye will instinctively search the sky for eagles and scan the dark earth for the slightest movement of smallest ant, your heart will reach for tall mountains, bathe in the most intimate of passions and in the grain and grit of our earth. Such is Allison Grayhurst. Such is her poetry,” Eric M. Vogt, poet and author.
It’s a beautiful poem, alluding to the marvels of a life’s journey.
Great poem, Allison! 🙂
Reblogged this on Eric M. Vogt: Life-Writings and commented:
What a great poem by Allison Grayhurst! If you haven’t read her, you should. 🙂 Eric
Reblogged this on The ObamaCrat.Com™ and commented:
Check out Ms. Allison Grayhurst latest published poem…In The Gloom Cupboard. Congratulations Ms. Allison. ❀ Ciao Bella ❀
Love it! Crisp, feeling, spacious, promising in its beauty.
“I am waiting for motivation, for a clarity of purpose
that I once owned like a beautiful stone
I sunk under the St. Lawrence rapids. When I was a child,
I watched those rapids without fear,
stood close to the edge and never wondered about the slippery underfoot,
never worried about the shadflies arriving like a plague of river insects
or about my loneliness that turned into a ghost companion
comforting me in those grey Quebec afternoons.”
“But here, in this riverless realm,
I cannot place my hands down. I cannot stretch wide enough
to feel whole.”
Really wonderful, Allison. 🙂