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Here, Inside Us All

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What do you call it,

the adulterous, inadequate

fury

of the isolated crowd?

What do you call

the lion-hearted who pave

their way into the chilling

unknown?

I have heard feet

hurry into the cradle of infinite

night, trying

to find the centre where light

begins and echoes forth

its dreamy rays.

            Outside, on the solid earth, they wander

as their existence diminishes with each forbidden

step. Though bewildered

with their origin and their heavy,

unexplained future, overburdened with the hunger

of how? & why? continuing

up of the pure experience of praising and love

shared.

            Their voices, they whisper –

                        All we ask,

                        is to inscribe our names

                        on the skin

                        of eternal rivers, rushing . . . –

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Copyright © 1991 by Allison Grayhurst

amazon.com/author/allisongrayhurst

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First published in “Alternative Press Magazine”, 1991 under the pseudonym Jocelyn Kain (aka Allison Grayhurst)

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You can listen to the poem by clicking below:

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“Grayhurst’s rapturous outpouring of imagery makes her poems easily enjoyable … Like a sear the poet seeks to fathom sensual and spiritual experience through the images of a dream.” Canadian Literature

 “Allison Grayhurst’s Common Dream is a massive book by a talented and enthusiastic young writer, with a feel for descriptive, meaningful verse. Philosophical and very deep,” Paul Rance, editor of Eastern Rainbow, U.K.,  spring 1993.

“Her poems read like the journal entries of a mystic – perhaps that what they are. They are abstract and vivid, like a dreamy manifestation of soul. This is the best way, in prose, one can describe the music which is … the poetry of Allison Grayhurst,” Blaise Wigglesworth Oh! Magazine

“Rich images and complex, shifting metaphors drive Allison Grayhurst’s poems. She focuses on sexual love and interior landscapes, widening to include the heart, eternity and all.”  Next Exit

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As We Live

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Too much of artificial fate,

we ask for destiny.

            The hero knows this

more than the king.

            The river that plunges forward

into the source of the sea, also speaks

this forceful rhythm, void of agony

or bold illusionary self-praise.

            Lovers too, who arch toward

the light, never compromising,

even with the threat of weeping, reach fullness,

spiritually united

beyond the conflict of longing.

            And the poet and painter who,

with generous expression

extend their souls

to the uncomprehending crowd

(defenceless – transformed)

bloom artfully

from the centre

up.

            Give us a name, an age

anchored in the owl-eye

sun.

The water is leaping,

baring its teeth to the Atlantic

                        shore.

These are no shadows

we seek

but God, God –

                        edible

                                    repair.

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Copyright © 1991 by Allison Grayhurst

amazon.com/author/allisongrayhurst

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First published in “MacMaster Creative Writing, Beneath the Surface”, 1990/1991 under the pseudonym Jocelyn Kain (aka Allison Grayhurst)

.

You can listen to the poem by clicking below:

.

“Grayhurst’s rapturous outpouring of imagery makes her poems easily enjoyable … Like a sear the poet seeks to fathom sensual and spiritual experience through the images of a dream.” Canadian Literature

 “Allison Grayhurst’s Common Dream is a massive book by a talented and enthusiastic young writer, with a feel for descriptive, meaningful verse. Philosophical and very deep,” Paul Rance, editor of Eastern Rainbow, U.K.,  spring 1993.

“Her poems read like the journal entries of a mystic – perhaps that what they are. They are abstract and vivid, like a dreamy manifestation of soul. This is the best way, in prose, one can describe the music which is … the poetry of Allison Grayhurst,” Blaise Wigglesworth Oh! Magazine

“Rich images and complex, shifting metaphors drive Allison Grayhurst’s poems. She focuses on sexual love and interior landscapes, widening to include the heart, eternity and all.”  Next Exit

.

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Sculptor

So hard & regal

are the cry of your creations.

A sadness that moves

to be opened:

Stone stuck

movement. Watchers

in the distance

breathing out

your madness.

Old like

love, your roots

have no end. They burrow

with a strength no god

could hinder.

Your hands

outstretched

to the foreign dancer:

shrewd as passion,

life-filled

as the sea.

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Copyright © 1991 by Allison Grayhurst

amazon.com/author/allisongrayhurst

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Published in “ArtVilla” July 2017

https://www.artvilla.com/six-poems-allison-grayhurst/

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Published in “Communicators League” June 2017

https://communicatorsleague.com/2017/06/23/three-poems-by-allison-grayhurst-2/

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First published in “Mother of Thyme”, 1992

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Published in “The Amethyst Review, Volume 1, Number 2” Summer 1993

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You can listen to the poem by clicking below:

.

“Grayhurst’s rapturous outpouring of imagery makes her poems easily enjoyable … Like a sear the poet seeks to fathom sensual and spiritual experience through the images of a dream.” Canadian Literature

 “Allison Grayhurst’s Common Dream is a massive book by a talented and enthusiastic young writer, with a feel for descriptive, meaningful verse. Philosophical and very deep,” Paul Rance, editor of Eastern Rainbow, U.K.,  spring 1993.

“Her poems read like the journal entries of a mystic – perhaps that what they are. They are abstract and vivid, like a dreamy manifestation of soul. This is the best way, in prose, one can describe the music which is … the poetry of Allison Grayhurst,” Blaise Wigglesworth Oh! Magazine

“Rich images and complex, shifting metaphors drive Allison Grayhurst’s poems. She focuses on sexual love and interior landscapes, widening to include the heart, eternity and all.”  Next Exit

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