If

If we live

through this hangman’s touch,

outrun this heatwave and find

an oasis in spite of the odds,

then we will be sealed

in the summer of our belonging.

We will take only what we are given

to own, dress up occasionally, mostly

be charmed by sweet and simple delights.

If we survive

the devouring vultures, the

vanity of self-punishment and

the unbreakable natural law,

then our breadbasket will be

overflowing with leftovers,

our hearts will be still in the peace

of eternal love, loving this day and the next

as lovers do, happy to serve,

happy to fill the bathtub

and soak.

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Copyright © 2023 by Allison Grayhurst

amazon.com/author/allisongrayhurst

“The poems included in Allison Grayhurst’s poetry collection Running, lightwave riding reveal an impressive artistic perfection and creative energy. The poems are full of lyrical force and show freshness of style. No doubt, this is a significant work. The poems have great power of observation and originality of imagination,” Dr. Karunesh Kumar Agarwal publisher Cyberwit.net

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First published in “Hobo Camp Review” May 2023

https://hobocampreview.blogspot.com/2023/05/allison-grayhurst.html

https://hobocampreview.blogspot.com/2023/05/hobo-camp-review-issue-44-summer-2023.html

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You can listen to the poem by clicking below:

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You Heard Me

You heard me speaking

and you shook the floor,

loosening the dust and devastating

sadness until that floor

was dismantled and replaced

by a stronger, easier-to-clean

platform, until the miracle

rose unpolluted in a continual

swelling, sinking the darkness for good,

calling brother to sister to the truth

of your perfect temple, worshiping the work

of love, relieving the weight of chaos.

You heard me and I know you are perfect,

more real than the burrowing fears inside my head,

more powerful than the churning sickness of

anxiety that overtakes my gut, overtakes and takes

me away from you.

You who heard me,

through paralysis and poison,

through my weak overtures, ripped away

my unhealthy accumulations, cleansing

my desires that missed the mark,

until I saw and committed

to one voice, one priority, listening.

.

.

.

Copyright © 2023 by Allison Grayhurst

amazon.com/author/allisongrayhurst

“The poems included in Allison Grayhurst’s poetry collection Running, lightwave riding reveal an impressive artistic perfection and creative energy. The poems are full of lyrical force and show freshness of style. No doubt, this is a significant work. The poems have great power of observation and originality of imagination,” Dr. Karunesh Kumar Agarwal publisher Cyberwit.net

.

.

Published in “Sahityapost” June 2023

https://sahityapost.com/english/poems/107248/

https://sahityapost.com/category/english/

.

.

First published in “Synchronized Chaos” May 2023

https://synchchaos.com/poetry-from-allison-grayhurst-14/

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.

You can listen to the poem by clicking below:

.

.

Zen Virgin

This killer yoke

was pieced together from another century,

enforcing brutal labour,

swollen joints from overload

and depression swamping the upper ground.

You know it has always driven the hunt,

from your parents’ childhood homes

in Indian monsoons and Polish Februarys –

dishwashing, factory working, 4 a.m. typing,

deciding to plot an unexpected ending,

yet still, following form.

You know you can get out only

if you stop defending all of its creation, only

if you drain your devotion and broaden what

you are and are not permitted to be.

You can get out, flashing, golden-sea eyes

flashing and leaping in celebration of the door touched

and opened, the re-wiring that burns every wire

and sets down the players

and the playing board.

Do this emptying.

Trust it is done and it will be done.

You can hold your shoes in one hand

and your truth in another,

put on those shoes and yield to a direction

unprecedented.

.

.

.

Copyright © 2023 by Allison Grayhurst

amazon.com/author/allisongrayhurst

“The poems included in Allison Grayhurst’s poetry collection Running, lightwave riding reveal an impressive artistic perfection and creative energy. The poems are full of lyrical force and show freshness of style. No doubt, this is a significant work. The poems have great power of observation and originality of imagination,” Dr. Karunesh Kumar Agarwal publisher Cyberwit.net

.

.

Published in “Sahityapost” June 2023

https://sahityapost.com/english/poems/107248/

https://sahityapost.com/category/english/

.

.

First published in “Synchronized Chaos” May 2023

https://synchchaos.com/poetry-from-allison-grayhurst-14/

.

.

You can listen to the poem by clicking below:

.

.