.

Serpent in my Shoe

.

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.

.

.

Copyright © 2004 by Allison Grayhurst

amazon.com/author/allisongrayhurst

.

First published in “Storm Cellar, Volume III, No. 2”, 2014

SC vol. III no. 2 OUT NOW!

Allison Grayhurst: Serpent in My Shoe

.

You can listen to the poem 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.

.

.