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I Dive To Rise

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I give it up – the racing dread, erasing

the good from my garden and the dawn from my eyes.

I give it up like a heavy stone

that once tied my sailor’s bones

to the earth. I dive deep into the salty liquid,

healing as I let go of the weight,

the power, the need for control.

I give it up – the undone deeds of expectation,

the ability to swim or breathe or feed on blood and bread.

I’m done with planting and days of endurance.

I’m done with mouthing platitudes of hope and guilt

that shouldn’t have been mine to bear.

I’m done with self-pity and the wages of truth.

I give it up and dive deep into the watery belly

where no footprint has ever been. Sleeping is the same

as waking is the same as staring at the minnows

and piranhas head on – the same as growing gills and talking

without sound. I give it up and give to get

a way out of these decade-old barriers, a way away from

the quarter moon heart and the vices

I hear every day like corpses rising

among the vulture birds, voices that have hands

frantic, with no where to go . . .

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Copyright © 2010 by Allison Grayhurst

amazon.com/author/allisongrayhurst

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First published in “Siren, Issue 7, Summer 2015” September 2015

https://sirenzine.wordpress.com/2015/09/02/allison-grayhurst/

https://sirenzine.wordpress.com/

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Published in “Viral Cat” Fall 2015

http://www.viralcat.com/fall2015issue.htm#956291116

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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 ‘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.

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