.

The Gift of Fire

.

Your pale cowardly stride,

hiding from intensity as though it were a pathway

out. Your miniature thumping soul,

bereft of courage or compassion.

You chose to seal this circle of darkness

and kill the daybreak. I want

no part. I want to burn the clocks, wishing

we never met, wishing I never trusted

your dysfunctional loins. But I did.

You graffiti my house with your emotional

crudeness, trading in my clothes to pay homage

on the altar of your fears.

I pray I have no connection.

That I walk this edge focused only on God

and the gift of this difficult awakening. From now on,

you are nothing. My rage is reborn, re-directed.

My pain is a fire that will warm me,

warn me for the next time.

No one will touch me until they make it through

that fire. No one will know me.

.

.

Copyright © 2010 by Allison Grayhurst

amazon.com/author/allisongrayhurst

.

First published in “The Galway Review” July 2015

 

Allison Grayhurst – Five Poems

.

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.

Reviews of ‘Pushing Through the Jelly Fire’:

“This, (Pushing Through the Jelly Fire) is my second favorite book of poetry by Allison Grayhurst. I have it in paperback. I read a lot of poetry across a lot of blogs but Grayhurst’s work stands above the crowd and is of tremendous quality. I highly recommend this and The River is Blind. Her quality of writing is of a high standard and never ceases to lift my spirits as I turn pages in paperback or kindle,” Bruce Ruston, poet, photographer, founding editor of The Poetry Jar.

“Another Grayhurst masterpiece, Allison’s work has inspired me to continue creating and reading poetry,” Ann Johnson-Murphree, poet.

.

.