Under the Coupling Clouds

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Under the Coupling Clouds

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Under the coupling clouds

weddings and funerals

reign, faith is crushed like

a blade of grass beneath feet and destinies

capsize. Forging through life’s worst mishaps,

enduring hearts still burn great

with potent dreams.

 

While reeling in the cries

of rat-bitten love,

comes legends of courageous

forgiveness.

 

Under these coupling clouds

people heed morning as an adored

second chance. Habits break

to let begin a blazing birth

received.

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Copyright © 1998 by Allison Grayhurst

3002

amazon.com/author/allisongrayhurst

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First published in “Scarlet Leaf Review” June 2017

http://www.scarletleafreview.com/june-2017

http://www.scarletleafreview.com/poems9

http://www.scarletleafreview.com/poems9/allison-grayhurst-poems

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You can listen to this poem by clicking below:

https://allisongrayhurst.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/under-the-coupling-clouds.m4a?_=1

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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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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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Safe In You

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Safe In You

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          In you, mystery is masked

by no one’s hood, has grown

away from the tyranny

of world and the gloom

of nations betrayed by

their gods.

 

          In you the inexplicable

takes a womb, a rhyme

from your sweet blood

flowing.

 

          And love, once pale and clay-like-cold,

selected you to partner my hope,

to resemble visions vacant of sentiment

and teach me to abandon

death and ill-nourished joys.

 

          Your love wraps around like a melody

undulating out from your exceeding

intensity, it wraps,

until I surrender, unable, unwilling

to move.

 

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Copyright © 1997 by Allison Grayhurst

amazon.com/author/allisongrayhurst

 

 

Published in “Asian Signature, Vol. 5, No. 1” July 2018

http://asiansignature.com/world-poetry/allison-grayhurst-2/

http://asiansignature.com/2018/06/page/3/

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First published in “Bewildering Stories, Issue 716” May 2017

http://www.bewilderingstories.com/

http://www.bewilderingstories.com/issue716/blurb.html

http://www.bewilderingstories.com/issue716/safe_you.html

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

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You can listen to the poem by clicking below:

https://allisongrayhurst.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/safe-in-you.m4a?_=2

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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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Of Manna and God

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Of Manna and God

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To let go of the addiction

eating away at my cupboards.

To sing tra-la-la in the face

of fate and fall at the feet

of the unknown is what

my blood calls for, is the

rock I must throw and is the

river to sink it in.

To bury the book in the cellar,

to take my number off the list

and crack a nut on the hardwood floor

is my chance for renewal,

is my stage of internal strife, where

two voices argue of opposing faiths,

and all the while my house is burning.

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Copyright © 2000 by Allison Grayhurst

amazon.com/author/allisongrayhurst

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Published in “Novelmasters” May 2017

http://www.novelmasters.org/allison-grayhurst-end-of-an-era/

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You can listen to the poem by clicking below:

https://allisongrayhurst.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/of-manna-and-god.m4a?_=3

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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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