Category Archives: Excerpts from Book 22 “The Poetry of Allison Grayhurst – completed works from 1988 to 2017 (Volume 1 of 5)” Edge Unlimited Publishing (2017)

Not Enough

Posted on by Allison Grayhurst

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Not Enough

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Here

 

is how it feels to be toyed with when

hungry, to be taken when

in love, to be sent back when

needing so much just to find a window to

leap through, something to make

my hands tight with conviction, to be

overweight with passion.

 

Here

 

is how cruel your slick indifference is,

decaying my devotion for higher places,

taking the syrup from my smile, and the

crippled sun it brings.

 

Here

 

afraid, deep in the sinister void,

deep in Monday night, deep in the

left-over memories.

 

Here

 

down like a coffin weight, down

into indulgent depths, down

into the thickening ache, determined still

yet to rise . . .

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Copyright © 1997 by Allison Grayhurst

3000

amazon.com/author/allisongrayhurst

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First published in “Bewildering Stories, Issue 710” April 2017

   

http://www.bewilderingstories.com/

http://www.bewilderingstories.com/issue710/blurb.html

http://www.bewilderingstories.com/issue710/not_enough.html

http://www.bewilderingstories.com/bios/grayhurst_allison_bio.html

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You can listen to the poem by clicking below:

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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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Reviews of  ‘Journey of the Awakening’:
“Journey of the Awakening is the first book of poetry that I have read of Allison Grayhurst. While reading it began to sound familiar, the comment to myself was “She is as good as Sylvia Plath”. When I finished the book I read comments from others who referred to her as “In the style of Sylvia Plath”; Ms Plath, one of my favorite poets had no match until Ms Grayhurst’s work. Congratulations to her on her achievements, I am already a ‘fan’, the love of her work will continue to grow,” Ann Johnson-Murphree, poet and author.
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“Grayhurst is a great Canadian poet. All of Allison Grayhurst’s poetry is original, sometimes startling, and more often than not, powerful. Anyone who loves modern poetry that does not follow the common path will find Grayhurst complex, insightful, and as good a poet as anyone writing in the world today. This, and other Grayhurst poetry volumes are highly, highly recommended,” Tom Davis, poet, novelist and educator.

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Party

Posted on by Allison Grayhurst

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Party

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Rake the light,

              I am alone upon

this distant stone.

I drum my plea,

no good for love

              or beds of needed warmth.

I lose because I am not in need

              of protection any more, because

my smile is drugged and time has dulled

the green glory of affection.

Stalk the depths where subtle glances can

separate the living and make hurt a hell

that is not snuffed out with each sip of drink.

              Hang the flower-head on the wall, pray that life

is more than memories and gentle speaking.

I stand beside him. He is not in love,

but the highway is in his eyes, and the hummingbird

              too, fluttering faster with each crack

of laughter.

It is the weather. It is no time for kissing,

but time for quiet sitting, for watching

the parasite inside grow to eclipse the sweet dream,

              that gnaws a well of sensual sorrow

and is for always bonded – irrepressibly, your own.

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Copyright © 1998 by Allison Grayhurst

3002

amazon.com/author/allisongrayhurst

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First published in “Ygdrasil – A Journal of the Poetic Arts, VOL XXV, Issue 4, Number 288” April 2017

http://users.synapse.net/kgerken/

Click to access Y-1704.pdf

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You can listen to this poem by 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.

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Review of The Longing To Be: 

“The contents of Allison Grayhurst’s book The Longing To Be are both personal and universal and are described in such thematic and golden terms that one can see that a lot of thought has gone into each line. The poems are written mostly in free verse throughout, with both rhythm and soul weaved into them. For some poems, the layout seems experimental, and there is definitely a playfulness in the way that the words and verses fall onto the page. Others do conform to a “norm”, whatever that is. All are dramatic and thoughtful. These are layered poems with new horizons presented to the reader in every re-read. The effect is to keep things fresh with poems that constantly surprise in spite, and because of, the number of times being read. I thoroughly recommend The Longing To Be as a poetry book to study carefully and cherish far into the future,” poet Brian Shirra.

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A World Away

Posted on by Allison Grayhurst

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A World Away

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          Your nights were cradled

in the boiling anguish

of knowing nothing, not

of your purpose and not

of the tide that brought

you from behind.

 

          Your summers were jaded

by the men who beheld you

as one ripened, but luckily

robbed of suffering, and by the women

who left you, unable to withstand

your scissored breast, and spirit of

stubborn morbidity.

 

 

          Take the gospel of your blessing

          and of your balancing.

 

          Take today what restores

          yesterday’s hollow ache and cursing.

 

          Take these days in your hands and feast

          until every sour doubt dies and

 

          you mourn their passing

          no more.

 .

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Copyright © 1997 by Allison Grayhurst

3000

amazon.com/author/allisongrayhurst

.

First published in “Ygdrasil – A Journal of the Poetic Arts, VOL XXV, Issue 4, Number 288” April 2017

http://users.synapse.net/kgerken/

Click to access Y-1704.pdf

.

You can listen to the poem by 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.

.
Reviews of  ‘Journey of the Awakening’:
“Journey of the Awakening is the first book of poetry that I have read of Allison Grayhurst. While reading it began to sound familiar, the comment to myself was “She is as good as Sylvia Plath”. When I finished the book I read comments from others who referred to her as “In the style of Sylvia Plath”; Ms Plath, one of my favorite poets had no match until Ms Grayhurst’s work. Congratulations to her on her achievements, I am already a ‘fan’, the love of her work will continue to grow,” Ann Johnson-Murphree, poet and author.
 .
“Grayhurst is a great Canadian poet. All of Allison Grayhurst’s poetry is original, sometimes startling, and more often than not, powerful. Anyone who loves modern poetry that does not follow the common path will find Grayhurst complex, insightful, and as good a poet as anyone writing in the world today. This, and other Grayhurst poetry volumes are highly, highly recommended,” Tom Davis, poet, novelist and educator.

 .

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