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Funeral

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The photograph of her face –

bold as one who knows herself completely –

as the bagpipes blew

and I could hear her voice

gently humming the tune.

There were strangers everywhere

in the crowded room of grievers and

in her daughter’s eyes. It was

only her

I loved and her I will miss.

She cradled the land ever so deeply

and dreamt elaborate and graceful worlds,

etched in the smoothest of stones.

She is shared by so many.

But for me, my love was personal,

and it is not so easy to hold

this severed vine of gold, not so easy to let go

of her rare and destined heart

that helped give shape to my own.

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Copyright © 2002 by Allison Grayhurst

amazon.com/author/allisongrayhurst

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Published in “The Poetry Community” June 2017

 

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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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