Footsteps
of a haunted lion mourning
her lost young. In a cage,
another brow folded in grief
and grim expectation.
Entitlement massaged into the bright blank eyes
of the classless rich with their toothy smiles
and ego-feeding gestures
of generosity.
The lion is haunted, the rabbit
is caged and the mournful dog longs for kinship.
The sacred is devoured but not for long
and not forever
as joy overtakes with one relaxed touch,
one moment of complete enjoyable surrender
where nothing impure
can enter.
That moment is worth poverty, worth
the fevered greed swirling around,
spoiling the atmosphere,
tricking with false kindness and ignorance of self
that leads to chaotic manipulation.
It is worth the penalty of no security
just to combine for a few moments
with another’s spirit, be grand
in such holiness, be humbled
by such rudimentary love.
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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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