Out
I asked to be let out
from that unwanted accomplishment.
I asked to shed my shame, my duty
and the hard-core call of doing time.
It was taken down and away from me,
along with so much more.
Guilt, and worldly bondage
also fell along with security,
along with a strange, twisted pride.
Knuckles down, hands still folded.
In my head are ghosts of patterns dissolved
but are still haunting. Ways of being I don’t have to
carry are dropped, but my empty arms are stalled
in position, humbled by uncertainty.
Set free and starting over, but not yet started,
just starting to try to etch out different
possibilities, a solid surging becoming.
Whiffs of passing currents,
rich aromas that entice briefly then fade.
Whiffs I cannot capture and keep,
not now, maybe never,
let out, dumbfounded,
helpless, screaming, just born.
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Copyright © by Allison Grayhurst 2025
amazon.com/author/allisongrayhurst
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Published in “Synchronized Chaos” February 2026
https://synchchaos.com/synchronized-chaos-first-february-issue-tba/
https://synchchaos.com/poetry-from-allison-grayhurst-17/
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First published in “Poesy Place” January 2026
https://www.poesyplace.com/out-a-poem-by-allison-grayhurst
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You can listen to the poem below: