.

The Last Stance

 .

 .

The fear settles on my shoulder

like a bug on an eatable leaf.

Imploding as the sun inches across the sky

from morning to twilight. From the

nadir to zenith of all my belongings

and hopes of forgiveness – I cannot swim.

I cannot stand underwater, like this,

a person attached to a puppeteer’s strings.

I hide in the cupboard. I turn on the TV

and blood leaves my veins. Countdown.

Counterclockwise the months spin,

happiness is cancelled by anxiety’s throne.

 .

.

Copyright © 2004 by Allison Grayhurst

amazon.com/author/allisongrayhurst

 .

.

First published in “In Between Hangovers”, February 2017 

The Last Stance by Allison Grayhurst

.

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.

.

.