.

First and Only

 .

The first time I found you

at the donut shop with the perfect balance

of youth and torment

absorbed in every movement, I knew I found

an eternal friend. The first time you sang, I felt

a fiery and surprising happiness.

The first hug we shared on the church steps

as the music played below was like a wave,

strong and soothing

rippling along my back and arms.

Our first kiss outside the café, when the rain

was about to fall, told me there would be

no number to our days, no greater gift but

to feel this – our lips once apart,

now vibrant, like a new being.

Our first laugh together as we drank our coffee told us

the depths we shared could be lightened by one another,

gave us more than important conversation, gave us

a rope to sometimes swing on and to always hold.

Our two children born were more than bluejays

on our shoulders,

more than any joy gone before, bringing us further

into one another’s arms. Blessed by this indelible love,

I am here, counting on nothing but on what we have,

strangely at peace, like the peace I found

the time I first found you.

.

.

Copyright © 2006 by Allison Grayhurst

amazon.com/author/allisongrayhurst

.

First published in “Carcinogenic Poetry”

http://www.carcinogenicpoetry.com/search?q=allison+grayhurst

.

You can listen to the poems 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.

.

.