The Spell was a Shield

 

 

The spell was a child

that fell from a high tree,

now broken, always

asleep. Blindfolded climbing

up a steep hill until I crossed

the pinnacle-edge and found myself laid

flat – a million fractures

puzzle-piecing my solidarity.

 

At the end of the labyrinth

into death’s mocking jaws, swallowed

into the heartless chamber, crushed in very direction,

no soft resting spot, no treaties for equality or deliverance.

 

The spell has evaporated, and with it, false notions

of guarantees, help from others, every earthly

security I tied my lifeline to.

Thresholds were crossed

only to learn they were never there, just to

learn the Aquarius-light I was drinking from was

no light but a bitter detachment from reality, a lack

of understanding.

 

The spell is charred, taken away.

I am open now, and new and

ever so fragile without a path or protection.

Everything is air, and what isn’t air is thin glass,

meaningless see-through enclosures, a false

blocking off of some things from other things,

a false truth destroyed with no truth left yet

to replace it.

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Copyright © 2023 by Allison Grayhurst

amazon.com/author/allisongrayhurst

“The poems included in Allison Grayhurst’s poetry collection Running, lightwave riding reveal an impressive artistic perfection and creative energy. The poems are full of lyrical force and show freshness of style. No doubt, this is a significant work. The poems have great power of observation and originality of imagination,” Dr. Karunesh Kumar Agarwal publisher Cyberwit.net

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First published in “Raven Cage Zine Issue 79” April 2023

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bSK-i_cdlpdZynz8lH2A4YIlxgyGiub3/view

Click to access RavenCageZine79.pdf

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Published in “Winamop” May 2023

http://www.winamop.com/index.htm

http://www.winamop.com/ag2300.htm

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You can listen to the poem by clicking below:

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