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Down The Limb

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Down the limb

the every-dream climbs

until the ground makes it whole.

After that, it must die,

return like an infant into the heart –

a braver dream about to form.

Once I held bitterness near, like a symbol

of my intelligence. Once love had failed me

and that became my god to beat on and plead with

in overnight torture and unceasing tears. That,

like hell, broke free my way to heaven.

And in a vision I was touched by the hand

of absolute tenderness. I was changed by mercy.

And still the mercy flows so freely through these walls.

Love allowed for me to feel and know,

stronger than the world. Love allowed

for me that neither death nor chance

can defeat.

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Copyright © 2002 by Allison Grayhurst

amazon.com/author/allisongrayhurst

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First published in “Vine Figure Poetry Page” November 2015

http://vinefigure.blogspot.ca/2015/11/down-limb-poem-by-allison-grayhurst.html

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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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