Only for a time

Only for a time

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bodies curse the morning

and find the bulk of their cursing

burned by the awakening of outside creatures.

Waiting, when waiting is not called for,

when what is necessary is to be still

without anticipation, to step into the miracle

of listening – sounds of kestrels circling low, sounds

of territorial squirrels and young robins

flexing their wings. In my eyes, the gulls are angels

arriving face-to-face at my second storey window,

speaking of God’s grace, personal, sharp and pure.

For the last time, chaos will have its say

and cowards will rule my playground.

This is the time of great beginning,

a time of the final letting go.

The birds are beside me, speaking in ways

I again understand, while the world is carving

new structures of dread.

This is the time of open palms and no favours,

a time of birds everywhere, singing for me, but not

for me.

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Copyright © 2010 by Allison Grayhurst

amazon.com/author/allisongrayhurst

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First published titled “Time” in “Kalkion”

http://www.kalkion.com/poetry/2087/time

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You can listen to the poem by clicking below:

https://allisongrayhurst.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/only-for-a-time.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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When This Is Over

When This Is Over

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At the end of the day, the pears will be ripe

and the ones I loved and died will float before me

in waves of growing beauty.

At the end, when all of this leaves, then I will breathe

an owl breath, still in my tranquil sky.

At the end, I will find you, thank you for this sick chaos –

myself, a garden, hit by a massive storm.

I will give life again to the little birds, insects that have no

use or concept of glory. I will return with you

to the Buddha waters, happy to know so much love.

I will walk out my door and there will be summer,

early summer, and you and I

(though bruised and that much more

world-weary) will walk into the warmth:

ultimately loved, unequivocally whole.

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Copyright © 2010 by Allison Grayhurst

 

amazon.com/author/allisongrayhurst

 

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First published in “Bigger Stones”, 2013

http://biggerstones.weebly.com/magazine.html

http://biggerstones.weebly.com/magazine/when-this-is-over-by-allison-grayhurst

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You can listen to the poem by clicking below:

https://allisongrayhurst.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/when-this-is-over.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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Pathway

Pathway

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The power

and the moon and the bride

ducking behind snow banks.

Weather, may I have you to own,

be reborn in the dead afternoon like

a hawk that circles the windless skies?

Sleep, with all the dreams and shapes of dreams

tucked in your mind like precious stones.

I carved you out of grain. I stalked your elusive

steps, looking for you at each corner. Down I went sliding

into open houses searching for your seed, but your seed was

a balloon I could not catch and my child-grip is short, as are

my obsessive desires. Too far down

is the raging river’s floor –

I am carried off. This time I will not panic,

but sink and imagine I am growing gills.

I will relax the burning

in my mind and enjoy the end and then give in

to the continuous flow.

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Copyright © 2010 by Allison Grayhurst

amazon.com/author/allisongrayhurst

 

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Published in “Abramelin” , 2012

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http://thegiantgilamonsters.com/abramelin/?paged=4

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Published in “The Entroper”, 2012

 

“Pathway” by Allison Grayhurst

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You can listen to the poem by clicking below:

https://allisongrayhurst.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/pathway.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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