The Flat Plane of Imaginary Heaven

The Flat Plane of Imaginary Heaven

Far, as the minute mile

that rests on my shoulders

like a dream, waterlogged.

Dirt under my fingernails

that won’t go away.

Summer on my tongue

that won’t go down smooth,

won’t let me near the balloons

or the genuine smile, takes me out of my nest

and puts me centre floor

with the predators – with the dangers

of too-strong a dream,

or like petals caught in the wind.

I begin

to fly

without direction or control,

fly without decision, but wanting a change,

wanting to ride the log down the river,

steering with perfect gusto.

The complex edges of touch,

the final shadow of all once loved

passing over like a life undone,

like a place of magic

but without God,

like a place of kindness but no warmth,

or like perfection lacking any sense of surrender –

bound to the shackles of a predictable reality.

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First published in “Aji Magazine, Issue 4”, Spring 2016

http://www.ajimagazine.com/issue-4-spring-2016.html

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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.