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Being Followed
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The town is dark
with frost & fist.
The moon punishes the streets
with its sultry glare.
She walks down the narrow alley
followed by
a small-eyed stranger:
Large hands in pockets.
Grey hair stinking
with spray. Quick breath
in her lungs. Fear
filtered into her veins.
She looks to the trees for
comfort, looks for the nearest
exit. Does not
turn back. Does not
run, but hears
his heavy steps
stalking from behind.
She begins to pray. But
still the moon’s mocking
mask & still the flowers
sleeping & still
his approaching eyes, void.
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Copyright © 1997 by Allison Grayhurst
amazon.com/author/allisongrayhurst
First published in “Novelmasters” July 2015
http://www.novelmasters.org/allison-grayhurst-when-worlds-collapse-and-other-poems/
http://www.novelmasters.org/category/poetry/
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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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