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Beyond Instinct or Dreams

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Renewal is in the night,

comes like lovemaking

to heal the bruise of harsh words

and lonely needs.

 

Because a cigarette is sometimes

all that is wanted, or good news in the mail,

and because the ways of the heart are erratic,

inconsistently falling as flakes of snow,

that is why we sometimes sleep with death

as we do with God, not holding but letting It hold

us in a warm invincible sack, offering promise, a journey

to somewhere unfathomable.

 

That is why some fear is good, is intimate as love.

And the sky is breathing and the oceans, the seas,

the rivers are breathing. And the beetle and the rooftops too.

 

Trees sway with the clouds.

The butterfly and guppy are great as mountains.

All chimes of tenderness or tragedy,

seeking its necessary role.

We bear the weight.

We take balloons to birthday parties.

And happy is the motion. And graced

are each of our failings.

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Copyright © 1998 by Allison Grayhurst

amazon.com/author/allisongrayhurst

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First published in “CRASH a litzine”, Issue #7

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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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Review of The Longing To Be: 

“The contents of Allison Grayhurst’s book The Longing To Be are both personal and universal and are described in such thematic and golden terms that one can see that a lot of thought has gone into each line. The poems are written mostly in free verse throughout, with both rhythm and soul weaved into them. For some poems, the layout seems experimental, and there is definitely a playfulness in the way that the words and verses fall onto the page. Others do conform to a “norm”, whatever that is. All are dramatic and thoughtful. These are layered poems with new horizons presented to the reader in every re-read. The effect is to keep things fresh with poems that constantly surprise in spite, and because of, the number of times being read. I thoroughly recommend The Longing To Be as a poetry book to study carefully and cherish far into the future,” poet Brian Shirra.

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