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Serpent in my Shoe
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There it is –
inane, insane instinct
in the bedrooms of
the unknowingly damned.
I rise like a rose
into bloom then lose all
my petals to the storm.
Waves and lions under the
sink, and the deepest dream I ever
dreamt was alone with the motions
of darker worlds.
I live with my drink and the smell
of too many ghosts warming themselves
over my vent.
I run with the wheelbarrow, my possessions
piled like dead sparrows.
Talking through the window, I hear
them talking about the petty thing that keeps
days turning and leaves no one free enough
to walk the plank.
I stand outside for a moment
and plunge all I know like a stake
into dry ground.
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Copyright © 2004 by Allison Grayhurst
amazon.com/author/allisongrayhurst
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First published in “Storm Cellar, Volume III, No. 2”, 2014
Allison Grayhurst: Serpent in My Shoe
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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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Reblogged this on The ObamaCrat™.
Not to compare, but this is one of the most incredible of Grayhurst’s creations to me in the creation of its illogical imagery that FEELS like it makes perfect sense, and beyond! Incredible that we can get language to do this – take us so beyond the left brain into the multidimensional truth of our world, accessed only by our expansive right hemisphere.
“Waves and lions under the
sink”
This is so true! Thank god for the existence of the archetype of the Phoenix in our psyche!
“I rise like a rose
into bloom then lose all
my petals to the storm.”
Somehow these images mean the world to me:
“I live with my drink and the smell
of too many ghosts warming themselves
over my vent.”
Discernment! Perceiving clearly, making a choice, and taking a stand!
“I hear
them talking about the petty thing that keeps
days turning and leaves no one free enough
to walk the plank.
I stand outside for a moment
and plunge all I know like a stake
into dry ground.”