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Where I Stand

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I stood, I followed

like thin glass against the wind.

I moved under the electric wire

searching for joy,

remembering swallows nesting on a cliff,

circling the summer, then autumn

sky. My house was a wound bandaged by prayers

and a struggling purpose.

There is a park and children daily

walking by. There are days without wages

and nights of empty exhaustion.

There are the stark branches

of a pure winter and

the folded arms of old, contented men.

I place myself in the corner of gaining less certainty,

close to the ground

so I can hear the footsteps nearing –

counting on their sound

to break my direction.

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Copyright © 2008 by Allison Grayhurst

amazon.com/author/allisongrayhurst

 

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First published in “Juxtaprose Literary Magazine, Volume 1” April 2015

 

 

http://www.juxtaprosemagazine.org/volume-1

http://www.juxtaprosemagazine.org/where-i-stand-by-allisongrayhurst

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Two poems “Where I Stand” and “The Path Before” have  

been nominated for Sundress Publications

“Best of the Net” 2015 by Ashley Schellhous, editor-in-chief 

of Juxtaprose Literary Magazine.

These poems were first published in the April 2015 issue

of Juxtaprose Literary Magazine.

 

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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.

 

Reviews of ‘The Many Lights of Eden’:

“’The Many Lights of Eden’ is a journey: a journey of the heart through youth, anguish, struggle, spiritual awakening, grief, death, love, loss, guilt, struggle, despair, hope, surrender, God, sensuality, imperfection, motherhood, aging, the vanquishing of the devil, indeed, many devils, the inevitable fall from perfection and the casting off of old wineskins for a new one. Perhaps speaking of this book as a chronicle of spiritual maturing would be more accurate, the realization that there is spirituality within imperfection and that handmade temples cannot hope to compete with the spiritual temples within each of us. ‘The Many Lights of Eden’ is a diamond. It is a beautiful collection of insights. Allison Grayhurst’s thoughts and writings are a deep well. Drink from it, for the water is clear and crisp. This collection is a MUST-READ,” Eric M. Vogt, author of Letters to Lara and Paths and Pools to Ponder. 

 “I have been slow at responding to reviews for Allison Grayhurst due to summer’s busy days, however she brings life to each poem, heart to the images and everyone should have a collection of Grayhurst Poetry,” Ann Johnson-Murphree, poet.

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