I Dreamt

Posted on February 8, 2016 by Allison Grayhurst

I Dreamt

I dreamt that you guided me

across the barren roads,

up steep stairways

and into the rooms of a kind stranger.

I dreamt I killed the Buddha,

that I fell headfirst into a blue flame fire

and felt no features of hopeless defeat.

I dreamt you were covered by

half a shroud, waking with a picture

of God in your hands.

I dreamt we were thrown together, flailing

our limbs until we entwined before the grave,

before the growing old.

I dreamt we kissed. And praise and guilt

were devoured by our sensual labour.

We found a doorway near that natural ocean.

We were crushed then cured by the heavy tide.

I dreamt you loved me as you do just now –

there was no loneliness, no voice withheld

and no place of shame.

amazon.com/author/allisongrayhurst

First published in “Junk in July Poetry Zine”, November 2015

Junk in July Nov third 1 Junk in July Nov third 2 Junk in July Nov third 3

http://junkinjuly.blogspot.ca/2015/11/i-dreamt-poem-by-allison-grayhurst.html

You can listen to the poems my clicking below:

“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.

On Valentine’s Day

Posted on February 3, 2016 by Allison Grayhurst

On Valentine’s Day

He gives me oxygen,

the golden lamp in isolating winter.

He raises me up like Lazarus

from quicksand. His is the

cord untied, the touch of tender pleasure,

a vehicle of lyric and curved flesh.

Many a day I lived behind the curtain, separated

from the sun, mad as a birthing mother.

My vision was void, as was the giving water

that softened the hard seed. I thought my sound

was smothered and my beautiful pony enslaved.

But with his olive eyes and male love

he unwrapped the dark expanse, nourishing:

I am bound to his appetite and to his comfort.

amazon.com/author/allisongrayhurst

First published in “Lunar Lit Poetry Page” November 2015

Lunar Lit November third 1 Lunar Lit November third 2 Lunar Lit November third 3

http://lunarlit.blogspot.ca/2015/11/on-valentines-day-poem-by-allison.html

You can listen to the poem by clicking below:

Greenhouse

Posted on December 31, 2015 by Allison Grayhurst

Greenhouse

Inside this greenhouse on a hill

there is an arcade, an eagle

and the fear of scorpions.

As the vegetables flower

I can almost hear the traffic on the streets below

drowning out the crickets. I know we belong here –

where there is an internal wind, seven bodies

and so much heaven. Our windows are bullet-proof.

When it is time to eat, we eat then we play, love and fight.

At the head, there is music, there is greenery.

The eagle gives us depth, and the fear forces us to grow.

The arcade is a machine of imagination.

When we leave the greenhouse, there is a path

we take downhill. We greet strangers,

and sometimes we bring home crude, unnatural influences.

But sleep heals our home where we hold

no resentments and keep no secrets,

and the air is as sensuous and tender as

our house is green.

amazon.com/author/allisongrayhurst

First published in “Dog Is Wearing Pants Literary Page” November 2015

Dog is Wearing Pants Nov 2 Dog is Wearing Pants Nov 3 Dog is Wearing Pants Nov 4

http://dogiswearingpants.blogspot.ca/2015/11/greenhouse-poem-by-allison-grayhurst.html

You can listen to the poem by clicking below:

Reviews of ‘The Many Lights of Eden’:

“’The Many Lights of Eden’ is a journey: a journey of the heart through youth, anguish, struggle, spiritual awakening, grief, death, love, loss, guilt, struggle, despair, hope, surrender, God, sensuality, imperfection, motherhood, aging, the vanquishing of the devil, indeed, many devils, the inevitable fall from perfection and the casting off of old wineskins for a new one. Perhaps speaking of this book as a chronicle of spiritual maturing would be more accurate, the realization that there is spirituality within imperfection and that handmade temples cannot hope to compete with the spiritual temples within each of us. ‘The Many Lights of Eden’ is a diamond. It is a beautiful collection of insights. Allison Grayhurst’s thoughts and writings are a deep well. Drink from it, for the water is clear and crisp. This collection is a MUST-READ,” Eric M. Vogt, author of Letters to Lara and Paths and Pools to Ponder.

“I have been slow at responding to reviews for Allison Grayhurst due to summer’s busy days, however she brings life to each poem, heart to the images and everyone should have a collection of Grayhurst Poetry,” Ann Johnson-Murphree, poet.