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By the edge,

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the fire drifted from the sands

and all my tribe bit the bolt

hard. For life was hard,

and our ceremonies of perseverance,

of letting go, and of holding on

were all we had.

Shadows and senselessness walked

across our movie screen.

I put it all in our backyard –

the carcasses of mourned dead animals,

the memories of betrayal and grief, people

that never tried and those

that tried but just not hard enough.

I put them there and buried them close to the fence,

behind the evergreens, near where the sandbox used to be.

I told everyone tales of ‘true blue’

and the phone would ring

and then it would stop

and everyone of us held hands. We prayed.

We knew this was just a time of scarcity and soon

it would be a time of plenty:

We knew the joy of loving one another.

 

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Copyright © 2010 by Allison Grayhurst

amazon.com/author/allisongrayhurst

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First published in “Synchronized Chaos April 2017: Sacred Mysteries”

“Her (Allison Grayhurst’s) pieces (poetry) have a tribal and timeless feeling, reminiscent of the Biblical commentary in Ecclesiastes,” Cristina Deptula, editor of Synchronized Chaos.

http://synchchaos.com/?p=12964

http://synchchaos.com/?p=12954

http://synchchaos.com/synchronized-chaos-april-2017/

http://synchchaos.com/poetry-from-allison-grayhurst/

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You can listen to the poem by clicking below:

https://allisongrayhurst.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/by-the-edge.m4a?_=1

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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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