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This page is in appreciation for all the incredible comments made on my work. Most have been from other poets. Many comments are poetic, insightful, and articulate. I would like to thank every person who took the time and energy to let me know how my work affected them. Not one comment has gone unnoticed, even though they are not all included on this page. These comments have moved me deeply, giving me incentive to keep writing.
Click to access Book-35-Comments-on-the-poetry-of-Allison-Grayhurst-from-2011-to-2023.pdf
Comments made on poems shared on All Poetry
https://allpoetry.com/AllisonGrayhurst
Poetry is Breath
https://allpoetry.com/poem/17207545-Poetry-is-Breath-by-AllisonGrayhurst
https://allisongrayhurst.com/2023/05/30/poetry-is-breath/
Sliptheknot – Plain language with carrying capacity. I suddenly adore being nearly electrocuted! Thank you A.G., for posting so reliably, remarkably, on AP
Blatant. B – I love your extended metaphor especially because I can picture it and there’s a way it make you feel. Thanks for the share.
Scrooby – “that next-layer rare connection”: so true: such strata takes a lifetime to uncover.
Useless
https://www.amazon.com/review/R1MHL3RZCR1JSV/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=8196316127
https://allisongrayhurst.com/2023/05/06/useless/
Karunesh Kumar Agrawal – 5.0 out of 5 stars This poem evoke a sense of weariness and longing for something better. Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 20, 2023
This shelter is threadbare
like a low-battery flashlight,
barely making a dark corner visible.
I sang to find an easeful slumber.
I left my empty bin by the road,
begging for a refill.
Summer is behind me.
The grass is torn
from tiny claws and pecking.
I live below the breathing line
and there is no way to rise higher
or join a harmony to unfasten my chains.
This poem evoke a sense of weariness and longing for something better. It seems like we’re expressing a feeling of being trapped or confined in a less than ideal situation, both physically and emotionally. The imagery of a threadbare shelter, a low-battery flashlight, and an empty bin all convey a sense of lack and depletion. The line about singing to find easeful slumber suggests that we may be seeking solace or comfort through self-expression, using music or singing as a form of escape or release. However, the mention of the empty bin by the road, begging for a refill, implies a longing for sustenance or fulfillment that remains unmet.
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Homecoming II
https://allpoetry.com/poem/17197217-Homecoming-II-by-AllisonGrayhurst
https://allisongrayhurst.com/2023/06/01/homecoming-2/
Obiekwe Emmanuel – Beautiful poem captured from the angle of weakness to a spontaneous reinvigorated person. I love the fact that strength conquers weakness. Thanks for the share.
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You Heard Me
https://allpoetry.com/poem/17190209-You-Heard-Me-by-AllisonGrayhurst
https://allisongrayhurst.com/2023/05/28/you-heard-me/
Nunoftferreira – Deeply philosophical, inspired words and inspirational piece of poetry you have composed and shared.
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Zen Virgin
https://allpoetry.com/poem/17188525-Zen-Virgin-by-AllisonGrayhurst
https://allisongrayhurst.com/2023/05/27/zen-virgin/
Murph5 – A very deep poem. It was an enriching experience reading it. One needs to courage to yield to the direction unprecedented. This poem gives it.
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Crack the Exterior, Interior Resonance
https://allpoetry.com/poem/17166057-Crack-the-Exterior–Interior-Resonance-by-AllisonGrayhurst
https://allisongrayhurst.com/2023/05/14/crack-the-exterior-interior-resonance/
Murph 5 – Inspirational… this poem as depth.. might be what is needed to push on and renew faith.
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Immersed
https://allpoetry.com/poem/17185220-Immersed-by-AllisonGrayhurst
https://allisongrayhurst.com/2023/05/25/immersed/
Matthew T. – You make the water sound so inviting. Great poetry!
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Mark it down
https://allisongrayhurst.com/2023/05/22/mark-it-down/
https://allpoetry.com/poem/17180024-Mark-it-down-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Ayush Bhatt – This heartfelt poem paints a vivid picture of life’s journey, where great joys approach like weeping harmonies in music. It speaks of the relief found in course-correction, the astonishment in the manifold beauty that surrounds us. The imagery of decorations placed around the table and declarations of devotion riveting through the backyard garden evokes a sense of abundance and celebration. The poem captures the essence of shared faith and enduring love, emphasizing that even in the face of explosive moments and transformative experiences, the bond between two souls remains steadfast. It speaks of stepping away from restrictions, embracing a beautiful anticipation, and opening the fortune box of possibilities. This poem invites us to cherish the moments that define our lives and embrace the wonders that await us with open hearts and minds.
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Rabbit
https://allpoetry.com/poem/17176610-Rabbit-by-AllisonGrayhurst
etoile – It sounds like you’re describing a wonderful and good experience. There is so much peace found here. It’s comforting and beautiful.
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Not a mirage
https://allpoetry.com/poem/17174941-Not-a-Mirage-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Kats7Corners – What an outstanding write! Making one’s mind up to be free; a self commitment to shine.
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Footsteps
https://allpoetry.com/poem/17173173-Footsteps-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Jslamb – Amazing how you pack so much into so few words. Length, width, height, depth.
Great job
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I heard a poet say
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U83S45pXSKw&lc=UgwQRfzB2lrg5w0KnCB4AaABAg
TortillasAreNotBiceps – She is so damn good. I just bought her book and it is amazing. She’s genius. I found her on Allpoetry.
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A King
https://allpoetry.com/poem/17169490-A-King-by-AllisonGrayhurst
PoetGlenn – What an absolute gem of poetic energy and word genius! How easily I devour all the darkness of a king, digest and assimilate it? This is, of course, my take on your poem, thinking of late of how I take for granted my lover, care not for her pain. This is what was on my mind as I read your wonderful piece. So that’s what I saw in it. You met my need and so beautifully. And I am humbled by your gift. Thank you for sharing it with us, your subjects. Blessings and peace to you.
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There are names
https://allpoetry.com/poem/16791731-There-are-names-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Air Anchor – This Poem speaks to the depths of my being, kind of reminds me of Prufrock Love Song by T.S. Eliot, but it also delivers something more, poignant and nostalgia-inducing (in a good way) thanks for sharing! In my mind this is art 100%
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Only for a time
https://allpoetry.com/poem/16806952-Only-for-a-time-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Bill Schiller – absolutely beautiful. gorgeous language and rich with insight
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When
https://allpoetry.com/poem/16818348-When-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Harris40tude – by george, a thoroughly great creation allowing, enabling, and providing me (the enthusiastic listener) with rapt attention, who matter of fact replayed the youtube recording more than once.
Great
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Direction
https://allpoetry.com/poem/16654138-Direction-by-AllisonGrayhurst
brandon – Such an incredibly beautiful write. The flow paired perfectly with that imagery. Tight share
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Direction
https://allpoetry.com/poem/16654138-Direction-by-AllisonGrayhurst
jslamb – As always, your writing reminds me of the fine scrollwork etched into the aged ivory of fallen heroes—admired as much for its beauty as its content.
Inspiring
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Lift
https://allpoetry.com/poem/16659163-Lift-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Thessander – A well convey poem that really deliver a punch to the gut with its emotive message and powerful powerful wordplay.
Lovely
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Initiation
https://allpoetry.com/poem/16667509-Initiation-by-AllisonGrayhurst
jack tomkovick – “guide me into your soundproof room” good line. + “a clean bill of health” + “days showered with talkative sparrows”
great line!!! + “just small spillages” like oil spills of decency and hope. Bravo. loved this! Nice write.
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Triage
https://allpoetry.com/poem/16669005-Triage-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Anjali219 – A lot of emotions in just one masterpiece, it’s incredible. It has pain, hope, fear, anxiety, anger, and whatnot. I love it thank you for sharing
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Sparrow
https://allpoetry.com/poem/16675300-Sparrow-by-AllisonGrayhurst
ARMundell – Lovely imagery in this poem! Especially love ‘the bull shark is coming with the encroaching wave’ and ‘open the cage-latch, cup me as your own’. Great poem!
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Thinking Outside
https://allpoetry.com/poem/16755783-Thinking-Outside-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Walter Alter – Jeez, Allison, this is some seeriously evocative versing with a natural lilt and accessible stretch between meta and phor.
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Beach
https://allpoetry.com/poem/16768196-Beach-by-AllisonGrayhurst
shepromisedmenothing – Vibrant imagery and I love the word choices you used. Refreshing way of describing a well-know landscape!
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When This Is Over
https://allpoetry.com/poem/16773526-When-This-Is-Over-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Howard Liggins – Your words are very colorful and exacting. Good Work!
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Building a Temple
https://allpoetry.com/poem/16545912-Building-a-Temple-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Sam Peter Sandil – That was deep, and amazing work. A truly wonderful piece of poetry
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Unharmed
https://allpoetry.com/poem/16599716-Unharmed-by-AllisonGrayhurst
HuBaChi – I must say, being on the neuromolecularly integrated side of entanglement, your masterpiece, reads in streams of so much variation, each to be applauded and never known
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Threshold
https://allpoetry.com/poem/16618010-Threshold-by-AllisonGrayhurst
TheINVISIBLEman – This is a really good write, it makes me feel almost if I’ve been dragged to hell against my will in a very interesting way.
Clever piece
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Fountain
https://allpoetry.com/poem/16624644-Fountain-by-AllisonGrayhurst
I.am.Lois – The metaphor within your poem provokes deep thought. I suspect most of us have such a fountain sitting in our back yard. I liked this poem very much. It was well written, and I like a poem that rolls around in my mind after I’ve finished reading it.
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Waterfall
https://allpoetry.com/poem/16626411-Waterfall-by-AllisonGrayhurst
S…O.A – This was powerful at best, it resonates with the voice of a man (woman) who found purpose and will not back down no matter what.
Amazing
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Backtrack then forward
https://allpoetry.com/poem/16632177-Backtrack-then-forward-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Spacebound426 – I really enjoyed reading your poem! Excellent expressionism! Incredible insight! Well done! Thank you for sharing this piece!
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Running, lightwave riding
https://allpoetry.com/poem/16644114-Running–lightwave-riding-by-AllisonGrayhurst
brandon– – I really enjoyed this write. That wordplay and flow were remarkable. Thank u for this share.
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Resilience
https://allpoetry.com/poem/16648924-Resilience-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Moonwolfsinging – I like the subtle rhymes such as bonfire and star, know and stone, plus gathering translating bursting constellations and engage/exchange. I found the meaning of the poem harder to engage with. I particularly like the image of bright gathering and bursting floral mastery of endless constellations. I like the awe you bring to the description of the universe.
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Egg
https://allpoetry.com/poem/16650672-Egg-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Katie Lauren – Amazing poem, incredibly well written. Enjoyed reading it.
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Reformation
https://allpoetry.com/poem/16531104-Reformation-by-AllisonGrayhurst
HuBaChi – Expressive write, hard to know the hold, the source of its brilliance, but to imagine
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I will make my way across the water
https://allpoetry.com/poem/14985191-I-will-make-my-way-across-the-water-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Terry Collett – Wonderfully written. Images carved into my mind.
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The Letting Go (a five-part poem)
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15981976-Excerpt-from-poem–The-Letting-Go–Deviant—by-AllisonGrayhurst
jslamb – “Blast” is a colossally dark, yearning-churning diatribe that exudes the intensity of Shakespeare’s “Out dam spot!” The line that caused my own soul to churn was “Cruel corpse rising from a muddy grave.” The phrase that made me gasp:
“You stood on my shoes as I was
wearing them, dug your heels in
and spat in my eyes.”
Great
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High Alert
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15986943-Excerpt-from-poem–High-Alert–by-AllisonGrayhurst
Larale Renee – Ooo moving poem. And vivid imagery. I see it and I feel it. Thank you!
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Figurine
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15801427-Figurine-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Oscar Stuta – Wow this is beautiful i felt inspired and you made my imagination go beyond what is normal
Inspiring
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Onward
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15803223-Onward-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Leslie S Powers – A surprising image in what first appears to be romantic, then tragic, then an affirmation of a human bond. Wonderful!
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Consecrated
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15810343-Consecrated-by-AllisonGrayhurst
PoArtry X – This piece expressed to me such a mastery of language and content…Impressed
Nicely done
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Unseen
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15815813-Unseen-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Errol Mendes – A powerful way to describe, especially in the springtime, how nature tries to teach us all the connection of everything and the way everything nurtures everything else
Inspired.
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Wedding Band
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15823402-Wedding-Band-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Terry Collett – I am going to be brave and say this is among your best poems. Excellently crafted and written
Inspired
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Over
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15825186-Over-by-AllisonGrayhurst
The Closet Philosopher – That was honestly incredible, I’ll be sure to follow for some more.
Amazing.
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Hurdle
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15827000-Hurdle-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Terry Collett – This is where a good written poem reveals itself, words supporting each other to carry the theme, allowing each sound to give sense. Excellent work
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Onslaught Cloud
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15723254-Photo-poem–Onslaught-Cloud–by-AllisonGrayhurst
Terry Collett – I like how you unfold this wonderful poem and concludes so hopefully.
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World Away
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15729537-Excerpt-from-poem–World-Away–by-AllisonGrayhurst
Papa Terminus – I simply love the spiritual acumen in your original poem, it has a power sense of nature and philosophy the words really captures the imagination, very deeply emotive write
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Sand
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15745721-Excerpt-from-poem–Sand–by-AllisonGrayhurst
Terry Collett – Biblical and insightful poem.
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The Letting Go (a five-part poem)
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15782793-The-Letting-Go–a-five-part-poem–by-AllisonGrayhurst
Dr.Ram Mehta – Very inspiring and thought provoking expressions you have composed with a spiritual touch
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Pretzel
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15490094-Pretzel-by-AllisonGrayhurst
TheTreeMan – great job! this is amazing! i can feel every letter and word in my soul!
Inspired me
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Uncut
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15639170-Uncut-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Terry Collett – A masterful work; excellent imagery and use of language. Enjoyed
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Steel and Spice
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15695332-Steel-and-Spice-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Terry Collett – Excellent poem and imagery
Lovely!
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Advance
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15439168-Advance-by-AllisonGrayhurst
AJ Anthony – The massive line breaks between each verse pinned my eyes in place. I saw “Advance, and a gaping maw of space following, and I was instantly confused.
“Leave this place” struck my mind back into itself and I managed to regain my composure. I tentatively continued reading, still feeling betrayed by the openness of the poem, and yet, that openness was the sole reason for my immobility. Reading at a snails pace, my eyes started adjusting to the space around the verses. I started reading faster and more gracefully.
I was gleeful, when the final verses were so easy to read, and my mind was free to explore.
Great poem. Clever write
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Temple
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15445135-Temple-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Mazzmouth – beautiful transcendent and an amazing write
thoroughly enjoyed it
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Communion
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15451257-Communion-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Dr John WorldPeace jd – I was having a hard time holding on to this until I reached the “leaving” paragraph and saw the poetry, philosophy, spirituality. Then in the “how” paragraph I felt the intensity of something that interested me coming. Then the last paragraph the gift of inspiration from God, acknowledged, I was whipped back to the beginning to go again, several times. WorldPeace
You touched me
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Exit Door Closed
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15457490-Exit-Door-Closed-by-AllisonGrayhurst
hereinmyhead – This is absolutely beautiful…I love this poem so much!
Amazing
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Glory, Believe
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15459355-Glory–believe-by-AllisonGrayhurst
thirdlight – Beautifully done. Despite the heavy subject matter, the piece is light and whimsical. thought provoking, passionate and a pleasure to read.
Great!
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Centre-Faith (while dreams swirl all-around)
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15465121-Centre-Faith–while-dreams-swirl-all-around–by-AllisonGrayhurst
Terry Collett – This is one of your best poems. You have an excellent talent.
Great.
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Sand
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15466972-Sand-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Mun – Wow… building resilience.. and faith in God.. aggressive and hard hit
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Because of course
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15364794-Because-of-course-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Terry Collett – A sense of mystery always lurks in your fine poems. You have the talent with words to place them where they are best suited. Fine work.
Inspired me
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Wind – Marrow – Bone
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15416680-Wind—Marrow—Bone-by-AllisonGrayhurst
jslamb – Extraordinary.
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We sorrowed far when the sky tore,
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15052200-We-sorrowed-far-when-the-sky-tore–by-AllisonGrayhurst
Terry Collett – You are a excellent poet- this is an excellent poem
Amazing
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No Stone No God
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15234433-No-Stone—–No-God-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Lawless6693 – This is by far my absolute favorite poem I have stumbled across on this site. Your thematic elements blend seamlessly, your metaphors ethereally stirring. I love this!
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As We Walk
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15236746-As-We-Walk-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Sky Dreams – How nicely you write! It enthralled me from start to finish.
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Currents
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15260566-Currents-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Hallie Cosmo – Great imagery. It really tells a story, and makes a person ponder.
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Say good, say goodbye
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15264706-Say-good–say-goodbye-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Z – Depth is incredible. A truly thought provoking piece. Well written.
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Sanctum
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15292224-Sanctum-by-AllisonGrayhurst
John Diamond – Utterly wonderful, saturated in rich metaphor and poetic expression Amazingly good!
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I will make my way across the water
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15174922-I-will-make-my-way-across-the-water-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Dr.Ram Mehta – You have crafted and composed very inspiring expressions with a spiritual touch
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I will make my way across the water
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15174922-I-will-make-my-way-across-the-water-by-AllisonGrayhurst
jslamb – I read this. Then read it a second time with you narrating the poem in the background. You have such a command of words—disciplined, but not harsh. Like an experienced juggler who places each object in its proper time and place. Or a talented ringmaster in a large three-ring circus who has all the acts aligned in such a way that it seems more a ballet recital than a sawdust serenade.
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Within Reach
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15195479-Within-Reach-by-AllisonGrayhurst
jslamb – This moves organically, like fresh lava advancing slowly across the ground, cackling, smoking, and heating the air, while cooling the top layer yet retaining enough energy to change landscapes—forever. PS: Why your writing affects me so, I do not know—except to say that though your words look calm on the surface, there is heat and earth-changing energy beneath.
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Within Reach
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15195479-Within-Reach-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Terry Collett – If I had written this poem, I would have bathed in the arms of the muse that brought this poem into being. I could read this poem over and over and be joyed by it each time.
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Kill the Poet
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15204910-Kill-the-Poet-by-AllisonGrayhurst
PingS – It’s always stunning to read abstract poetry like this- thank you!
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Kill the Poet
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15204910-Kill-the-Poet-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Terry Collett – A remarkable poem: full of imagery and good word choice
Lovely job
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Kill the Poet
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15204910-Kill-the-Poet-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Orense – Abstraction and ghastly loveliness. It also resonates especially with the times.
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Kill the Poet
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15204910-Kill-the-Poet-by-AllisonGrayhurst
jslamb – Intense. Raw. Brutally deep, like unhealed scar tissue. Or knife cuts on the Mona Lisa. Reminds me of something I once wrote, though not as well.
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Where are you? I’ve been calling
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15052162-Where-are-you–I-ve-been-calling-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Z- This was an awesome read, full of images and metaphors, really gets the imagination going. Awesome stuff
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Dad (an eulogy)
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15058297-Dad–an-eulogy–by-AllisonGrayhurst
Xavier X – What a beautiful tribute to a lovely person. The memories, the images and the delicacy of the writing are wonderful.
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Traces
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15060495-Traces-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Sirene1127 – Your poem is full of wonderful images. I loved the line “I have taken the hinges off the door, waiting to see what enters.”
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Illusions Burned, Radiant Light Restored
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15064805-Illusions-Burned–Radiant-Light-Restored-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Stray poet – Really captures the mind and the imagination. Great piece of writing!
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Crossroads
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15022508-Crossroads-by-AllisonGrayhurst
jslamb – Meticulous opening. Solid transition. Vulnerable ending—a perfect story arch.
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In My Corner
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15024932-In-My-Corner-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Terry Collett – Religious but not foremost, but desiring what peace that could bring in moments of non-peace. Splendid poem.
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One Wing
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15024942-One-Wing-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Terry Collett – There is sadness in this poem that reaches out. It is well written and is like finding a message in a bottle.
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new poem – not a poem
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15031308-new-poem—not-a-poem-by-AllisonGrayhurst
jslamb – Each word, solid. Each thought, connected. Like a well-constructed ladder, elevating the reader with each step. Enjoy the precision and disciplined creativity of your work. Thank you
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Lines
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15031303-Lines-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Terry Collett – You are an impressive poet: I am never disappointed by your poems.
Inspiring.
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The Flood
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15034799-The-Flood-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Daniel hale – I love it and I love the pictures that you drew, funerals and baby births and a barn alive with birds…… This lines with the following ones really puts one in peace while imitating and describing the circle of life
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The Flood
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15034799-The-Flood-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Terry Collett – Beautifully written; has a psalm like quality
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Bless The Fallen
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15040341-Bless-The-Fallen-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Obinnex – This is a spiritual piece in which the speaker is praying and hoping for those who are short of spiritual humility to be blessed with faith to be led through the dark into the light.
Wonderfully inked! Inspiring!
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Chinaglass Smile
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15010457-Chinaglass-Smile-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Gkmaharjan – Chinaglass smile, I am lost in your strength. I am not! Very powerful!
Amazing
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Before You
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15010469-Before-you-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Z – I wish I had talent like yours. What devotion! Truly amazing!
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Lament
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15010481-Lament-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Sliptheknot41 – Hi Allison. This reads aloud right from the monitor. In any voice or tone it reads acoustically, speaks from and to just about everybody.
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Lament
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15010481-Lament-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Terry Collett – I love this poem. It has many surprises like opening a present with another gift inside.
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Sanguine
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15013189-Sanguine-by-AllisonGrayhurst
smitasri – Wow, I am in awe you’re too good. I loved it especially the imagery is beautiful. I loved ever word
Inspired me
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Tunnels
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15015044-Tunnels-by-AllisonGrayhurst
jslamb – Quite a journey. Few writers take their work to the granular level the way you do.
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Everything Happens
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15018803-Everything-Happens-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Terry Collett – You build up the poem with the craft and skill and of a sculptor of words and images. It is in essence a spiritual poem; it is in s sense prayer like.
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No Gods, no Heroes, only women and Hector
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15021661-No-Gods–no-Heroes—only-women-and-Hector-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Ralfkay – a tome, a marvel, laying the charges against antiquity’s muscled, thick hearted male heroes, and the principal women who would save them, if only it was permitted, Bravo
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No Gods, no Heroes, only women and Hector
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15021661-No-Gods–no-Heroes—only-women-and-Hector-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Terry Collett – An excellent poem. Crafted well.
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Creativity
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15022491-Creativity-by-AllisonGrayhurst
eric svenson – So happy I read this poem … It takes the topic of Creativity and Big bang creates a new world with powerful images and metaphors … A poem for all Creatives … the solitude and loneliness … Valley lows and mountain highs
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Flies
https://allpoetry.com/poem/14990174-Flies-by-AllisonGrayhurst
DeeDee Cooper – Very nicely done, so many emotions and concepts you can take away with them with this poem.. thank you for sharing
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Wax Museum
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15001099-Wax-Museum-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Terry Collett – I love this poem. It moves on many levels.
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When Air-Borne Beings Fall
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15003951-When-Air-borne-Beings-Fall-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Night slips in – I really love this. Incredible use of words. I’d love to write more like this. Powerful
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.To Wait Without Drowning
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15005829-To-Wait-Without-Drowning-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Hodgetiger – Some amazingly vivid and powerful imagery and metaphors at work here, the spaces between worked very effectively too
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Seamless
https://allpoetry.com/poem/14991479-Seamless——-by-AllisonGrayhurst
jennareborn – The way you expand upon a concept is really amazing. The flow is wonderful, and the message rings true. Really enjoyed this. Thank you.
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Seamless
https://allpoetry.com/poem/14991479-Seamless——-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Terry Collett – I tried to listen for who may have inspired you amongst the poets to write as you do. I love this poem; I shall mark it up to be read again and again.
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Transfigured
https://allpoetry.com/poem/14993351-Transfigured-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Roxymel – beautiful beautiful write, its truly poetic and also has the classic touch of many famous poets
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Silence
https://allpoetry.com/poem/14993434-Silence-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Jonathan Moya – Every little detail, image and metaphor, the flow of language is showing the hand of a natural and assured poet.
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Silence
https://allpoetry.com/poem/14993434-Silence-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Robisms – Amazing metaphors in here… “if my eyes were an ocean where the whale/and the seahorse gathered, then I could see mercy/in the shark’s primitive teeth” love that part!!!!
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You Were There
https://allpoetry.com/poem/14993404-You-Were-There-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Z – this is art. absolutely extravagant. expressing so so much in such simple phrasing. great piece.
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Saltwater Sprint
https://allpoetry.com/poem/14994613-Saler-Sprint-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Noble Knight – Brilliant wording well done amazing work of wonderful art masterful job
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The Quenchable Drain Within
https://allpoetry.com/poem/14995247-The-Quenchable-Drain-Within-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Jerold Toomey – That’s deep and thoughtful. To find comfort in failure is a rare commodity.
Amazing.
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Show of Light
https://allpoetry.com/poem/14995270-Show-of-Light-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Noble Knight – Intriguing work of art a grand poem very well written marvelous job
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I moved like a moon
https://allpoetry.com/poem/14987184-I-moved-like-a-moon-by-AllisonGrayhurst
ArdenB – A very beautiful and touching poem – I love how vivid your writing is.
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Something found
https://allpoetry.com/poem/14987669-Something-found-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Xenial Xenagogue – Wow.. this was soo Excellent, i enjoyed reading this.
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Time like . . .
https://allpoetry.com/poem/14987666-Time-like-.-.-.-by-AllisonGrayhurst
richandpoor – Thanks for your original innovative intriguing poem.
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Dostoyevsky
https://allpoetry.com/poem/14987236-Dostoevsky-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Freedom came lov – On However someone would take this message of wisdom
This one should be read over and over and over again
This one
Yes. This one this particular poem reading is a great message wow thank you for sharing this poem reading I will be following some more of your work,
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Time does not
https://allpoetry.com/poem/14987686-Time-does-not-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Josephine Golden – Beautiful use of metaphor and personification. It truly made me pause and think about my situation at this moment. Thank you.
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Do not define me
https://allpoetry.com/poem/14991486-Do-not-define-me-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Papa Mama Jama – amazing write, lots of depth and polish with superb articulation and focus, good work here
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Walkways
https://allpoetry.com/poem/16957786-Walkways–part-14-of-16–by-AllisonGrayhurst
Jslamb – It’s amazing how your words turn three-dimensional in my mind—and, at the same time, unleash ghosts of emotion to haunt my soul. I suspect that’s because there’s a spiritual aspect to everything you write, particularly in this one
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Walkways
https://allpoetry.com/poem/16943677-Walkways–part-6-of-16—by-AllisonGrayhurst
Bill Schiller – This is gorgeous with turn-of phrase and potent introspection .. quite compelling
Inspired.
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Walkways
https://allpoetry.com/poem/16939939-Walkways–part-4-of-16–by-AllisonGrayhurst
Dicksonsammiel – Wow, this is so deep and profound. I love the imagery here and the tone is divine, beautiful piece…
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When the last tie is broken
https://allpoetry.com/poem/16915636-When-the-last-tie-is-broken-by-AllisonGrayhurst
DW0723 – Woow!!! Such a beautiful breath of words, a deep vivid imagery of what could or should never be.
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You Were There
https://allpoetry.com/poem/16911374-You-Were-There-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Symmetry59 – If I said this was brilliant, I’d be doing to a disservice, Allison. This poem needed so much to be read and heard in such a way as you’ve gifted us with. You are one of the best poets I’ve ever heard, and I mean that. It actually choked me up. Thank you so much for sharing. You deserve to be heard.
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Sheaves of Time
https://allpoetry.com/poem/16909528-Sheaves-of-Time-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Symmetry59 – I can count on two hands the amount of poets who have ever invoked this brand of emotion upon me. You are a true poet.
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A Day For My Own
https://allpoetry.com/poem/16907800-A-Day-For-My-Own-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Symmetry59 – I’m at a loss. You are amazing.
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It starts
https://allpoetry.com/poem/16888838-It-starts-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Mel mel – Thanks for sharing this different type of a literature poetic writing I have never seen something like this before but it’s is very interesting and unique in the way that you have written this thanks for sharing
Great poem
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Transfigured
https://allpoetry.com/poem/16904538-Transfigured-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Symmetry59 – Wow! You have this grown man sitting here in tears. I can’t believe how good you are.
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Through the girdle
https://allpoetry.com/poem/16899455-Through-the-girdle-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Symmetry59 – You are genius and a blessing.
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Why have I died
https://allpoetry.com/poem/16876890-Why-have-I-died-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Graphein – very deep your writing touches deep and the structure makes you think about who we are, thank you for sharing I am going to look forward to following your work
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I see differently
https://allpoetry.com/poem/16875195-I-see-differently-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Illegal Love – This was a beautiful reading. Very intimate words in my opinion.
Inspired.
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End
https://allpoetry.com/poem/16862112-End-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Pisces Man – My goodness! Hearing a poem being recited surely has a greater impact than reading it, and this poem really thrilled me to say the least.
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Flies
https://allpoetry.com/poem/16858631-Flies-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Howard Gipstein – I love this! It’s so well-crafted and has some amazing lines and images. Also, your reading of it is excellent!
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If it is what you want . . .
https://allpoetry.com/poem/16853467-If-it-is-what-you-want-.-.-.-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Howard Gipstein – This poem is profound and beautifully written and read. it warrants several readings.
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Because,
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15743786-Excerpt-from-poem–Because—by-AllisonGrayhurst
Papa Terminus – I really like the sense of inspiration this penning it has comprehensive philosophical tone, which expresses self awareness and deep spiritual development…I loved a mother’s love has no limits, it stretches past darkness, obstacles remains fierce and tender at once…there is nothing more unconditional then a mother’s love, even if people say they hate their mother, a mother never stops loving them.
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Mid-air
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15737664-Excerpt-from-poem–Mid-air–by-AllisonGrayhurst
Unapologetic – Wow. I can relate to this free verse poem so much. I can feel the words. Beautifully penned.
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Ambrosia
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15733543-Excerpt-from-poem–Ambrosia–by-AllisonGrayhurst
Jslamb – Your work is ever the kaleidoscope … changing, spinning, colorful, creative.
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Which Way?
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15727440-Excerpt-from-poem–Which-Way—by-AllisonGrayhurst
Blue2U – This is so wonderful. It made me think of all that we try to gather and acquire are not what is meaningful in life, its the little things that make life worth living. An Amazing poem
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Illusions Burned, Radiant Light Restored
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15689251-Illusions-Burned–Radiant-Light-Restored-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Bananahead – I can literally feel your emotions as I read these words. I have felt some of these things too.
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World Away
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15729537-Excerpt-from-poem–World-Away–by-AllisonGrayhurst
Papa Terminus – I simply love the spiritual acumen in your original poem, it has a power sense of nature and philosophy the words really captures the imagination, very deeply emotive write
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I have been born
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15680845-I-have-been-born-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Synonym – wow. The poem was great, loves the ” flaked into existence by force, by will and desire”, it was really beautiful.
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Lumin
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15622738-Lumin-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Terry Collett – You write so well Allison. I am a great admirer of your poetry. This I will add to my favourites.
Amazing.
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Like A Wave
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15567647-Like-A-Wave-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Ebby – I’m obsessed with this poem, its so well written and poses such an interesting image! keep up the amazing work
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Pythagoras-Ovid Royalty
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15492108-Pythagoras-Ovid-Royalty-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Dreamblue94 – This is a profound analysis of sociological factors in the development of history.
Amazing.
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Breastplate
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15488216-Breastplate-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Terry Collett – Dedicated poet with a wide palette of sounds and colours.
Great write
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Simple
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15474700-Simple-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Terry Collett – Excellent poem. A very talented poet with great imagination
Great!
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Because,
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15468814-Because–by-AllisonGrayhurst
Manpreet – This is absolutely beautiful, so poignant, so charming, soft and calming. “The ditch is now a road” – there is evident and pure faith in this poem which reflects beauty and expressed by a very talented hand and heart. Well done!
Amazing
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A Dream Suspended
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15463367-A-Dream-Suspended-by-AllisonGrayhurst
J A Overton – this is great filled with great vivid imagery, great stanzas well written
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The bells
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15225143-The-bells-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Obinnex -There are personifications used in these fascinating verses: ‘The bells speak of a hurt / that is mounting the circumference / of a life, mourning the death that splinters the arteries, / the hip bones, each vertebra. Begging to the stars to tell / a colossal fable, a majestic myth / to solve this boring condition / of being here, away from the infinite sky, swallowing / mounds of dirt where many others have had their footprints. / Speak of woods, and of creatures that love but cannot / laugh’.
Wonderfully inked! Inspiring! 😊 👏
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The bells
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15225143-The-bells-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Terry Collett – Almost prayer-like. Intelligent and well written poem
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The bells
https://allpoetry.com/poem/14985212-The-bells-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Papa Terminus – I really enjoyed the personal philosophy and the spiritualism of this poem, it felt like a spiritual experience or a revival…it moves with alot of passion…really excellently penned
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Wings
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15429110-Wings-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Myamberdog – Wonderful Allison. This poem had feeling which to me is #1 reason to write a poem. And it had hope as well. I listened to you read the poem so expertly…….pacing and inflection to perfection…..
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Bird
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15424927-Bird-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Brett Larue – Great work you do a excellent job finding patterns that flow
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Times
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15422796-Times-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Blue2U – What a beautiful expression of the emotions that live in our hearts and minds. Absolutely beautiful
Great.
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Mercy without Miracles and Miracles without Mercy
Papa Terminus – First may I say this really introspective relationship to the spiritual side of literature…this penning really captures the philosophical side of religion…and the sad beauty which expresses the sense of miracles through faith…quite compelling read…
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It is not
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15354810-It-is-not-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Valar Dohaeris – So woeful. I could feel the ache in my own bones. Time will remember
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better
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15350874-better-by-AllisonGrayhurst
T.S. Curtis – Your imagery is really beautiful right from the start. I could see everything you painted with your words. Beautiful poem!
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better
https://allpoetry.com/poem/14974253-better-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Violet inked – this reminds me more or less of my own life. and I’m sure many others too. a read that invokes a million thoughts in the reader’s mind, each bit and piece can be attributed to a moment in our lives – the burden, the letting go, the desire, and our wishful thinking. great write!
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Only for a time
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15346646-Only-for-a-time-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Jw writing – reading this poem is heartbreaking, jaw-clenching, and heart melting all at once. i am stunned by the quality of this poem. keep writing!! you are so inspirational
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Because I love you
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15296538-Because-I-love-you-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Terry Collett – I love how your muse brings you such gems. I like the calm manner of the poem and how it unfolds it tale. I enjoy reading it aloud or listen to you read them. Your use of words informs you are a true poet, a true seeker of truth.
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The Ride
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15281796-The-Ride-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Francine Farina – So very mystical and beautiful. The imagery is rich and has its own voice. I especially liked the last few lines.
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An Infant
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15052178-An-Infant-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Vera7 – Very beautiful writing filled with love and tenderness. A lot of effective poetic means create a wonderful atmosphere of joy and peace. A very strong final line-“the beginning and the potential all in one”
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Pathway
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15251982-Pathway-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Archie Waugh – “PATHWAY “…. The title itself speaks in volume and so do the poetry…. Beautiful piece…. Brilliant write….. Blessed and enjoyed to read ….Clever write….. Keep up…. Amazing…. Heart touched…. ♥
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I moved like a moon
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15147629-I-moved-like-a-moon-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Terry Collet – You do write powerful poems. Rich in imagery and good word choice.
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I moved like a moon
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15147629-I-moved-like-a-moon-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Elxsha San – I haven’t got any words to say after reading your one cause it really put me deep inside the poem along trading, from my opinion it’s having a lots of meaning in it.
Amazing
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A Journey in Four Parts
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15064721-A-Journey-in-Four-Parts-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Andja Bjeletich – God, this is absolutely stunning, I really love it, especially the repetition of snip.
Inspired me.
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It’s been months
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15052210-It-s-been-months-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Line Gauthier – Your command of the language and your storytelling skills are splendid. Beautifully crafted.
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We sorrowed far when the sky tore
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15052200-We-sorrowed-far-when-the-sky-tore–by-AllisonGrayhurst
Adareia – The theme running through this is so bittersweet and it truly moved me. Made my day!
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All one child
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15050231-All-one-child-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Air Anchor – this is a beautiful poem which aptly express the awe at the creation at large, thanks for sharing! extremely inspiring!
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The Stain
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15040335-The-Stain-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Tawilliams1964 – It felt like I was entering into an experience that tossed me about from one emotion to the next. Thanks!
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Blind Spot
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15034784-Blind-Spot-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Noble Knight – Marvelous work of very well written poetic art masterful job
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Everything Happens
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15018803-Everything-Happens-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Papa Terminus – You know I feel the sense of spiritualism and the deep engrained philosophies of society and how you relate the spiritual side of things with the natural order vs. Man made order, which really struck me as inspriational in a matter of fact sort of way…your words really encompassed the soul and the mind…which speaks to me of political naturalization and the laws of faith…but faith has no law…really a multi-layered penning which I quite enjoyed
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Almost to the Other Side
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15016837-Almost-to-the-Other-Side-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Terry Collett – This is a lovely poem: it speaks volumes in few words, conjures up pinpoint accurate images, as if listening to Wittgenstein after dinner. Love it.
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Love is our master
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15009391-Love-is-our-master-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Jcenortonus – So many lines to love! I adored the line about “here, there and always home.” I love the progression of a desolate place to a final one of beauty, and the image of the roots is wonderful. Great images, well-chosen words, feeling lines, and a terrific ending.
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Miles Without Grace
https://allpoetry.com/poem/15005814-Miles-Without-Grace-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Blgrn8 – I could feel the loss and grief. Very atmospheric with the description of October in that specific place.
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Thieves Of Muse
https://allpoetry.com/poem/14995374-Thieves-Of-Muse–by-AllisonGrayhurst
The Poetry Man – Now this one is a standing ovation! Great masterpiece!! Just plain awesome
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Quagmire
https://allpoetry.com/poem/14991512-Quagmire-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Terry Collett – A poem to read many times; the sparkle and colour of this poem with religious overtones is a food feast for the brain and soul.
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Vow
https://allpoetry.com/poem/14989141-Vow-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Ralfkay – thank you for your passion and captivating company on this journey of loving disappointments
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If I knew this haunting
https://allpoetry.com/poem/14982276-If-I-knew-this-haunting-by-AllisonGrayhurst
rune – great vivid imagery and word choice “the mound of dry bones that used to be flowers” amazing line.
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You Are
https://allpoetry.com/poem/14978388-You-Are-by-AllisonGrayhurst
Sonatavivace – as compelling as Sylvia Plath’s–
in theme and pathos. A poignant poem!
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Comments made on poems shared on this website
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Sculptures
LOVE your SCULPTURES!
The fact that they are down the side of the page of the poetic words – so PRESENT with
their “inarticulate” sensuality – the primal direct message.
They are so BEAUTIFUL and POIGNANT – filled with Feeling.
And they are photographed very well – ! The photos really allow them to come through.
Allison’s Poetry, Life, Love and Sculpture’s grace our lives with their passionate, heart-felt literary and artistic offering!
I love the choice of one of her sculptures she chose for this cover! (If I Get There – Poems of Faith and Doubt, a collection)
Her sculpture are heartfelt, haunting, beauty, sensual – wow, thank you!
Taylor Jane Green
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Sculptures
saw your books in person, held them in my hands, opened them and read at random. They are so, so lovely. I loved the covers with the photos of your sculpture – all people, mostly faces. They were presented as they are – with no intention to manipulate, just straight-up, fresh-faced for all to see. like children are, so very dear and unaffected, your sculptures are beautiful. Just like the writings, full of consideration, questions, and trust (nakedness, whatever one wants to call it…there is great strength in vulnerability).
Thank you.
Just keep doing what you do.
Jordan.
Oh – I forgot to say one thing…I just took another look at the sculptures and there is “someone home” inside of each one, there is someone alive in there, inside of all of them.
Beautiful. Don’t change, stay pure.
Jordan.
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Sculptures
It is an incredible collection of Art, glad to see a post of them.
Bruce
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Jumana
Part 1 – Intensely alive! Intense sharing! Honouring our own ‘quiet desperation’ journey (as Thoreau called it) – so incredibly articulated and laid out here; and as always, ending in jubilant revelation and resolution.
“Like a slap on the ocean’s ground, it came, rippling a great tide. The twisted face of misery lost its value. It was a miracle . . . to actually be plagued by nothing. There was no struggle, only sight. Only love. The seams of existence cracked, and along with them, the skeleton’s life I held and named from vast experience. I was alone, without potential, without hesitation. The panic of the heart, the scream of inner deficiency, all of that, past.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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Jumana
I am on part 3 and will read more of this — your awakening. It is very intense. The humility is very apparent, the willingness to receive, the willingness to be loved and known, loved and fully known…
Anna Mark
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Something found
To the marrow of the bone description – one wonders how she makes it through a day with such intensity of observance of the subtleties of life’s moments both inner and outer: the fireworks of the earth’s outer displays (tree roots, crows, conjoined legs, “windows stubbornly closed”) and the human being’s inner life (“a relieving smile”, “unintended solitude”). Thank you for your witnessing of all the layers, moods and moments – all embraced by your eye and unflinchingly given ‘voice’.
“Flowers are small. I can hear trains in the morning
when windows are stubbornly closed,
when I am walking and it is dark,
and the space around fills me with the ache
of unintended solitude.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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Quagmire
Both sides of life and responses to life articulated in an amazing ability to appreciate and nail the essence of both the cerebral and the sensual.
“We have these telescopes, our catacombs of understanding,
but we also have pilgrimage, crust, heartbeat, dying,
soccer fields and song.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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You Were There
This poem is like a haunting painting to walk through – like a rain in poetic Paris streets – its aesthetics making it all bloom far beyond its words. Thank you.
“I called to you in mornings,
weak with doubt and faced
by terrible extremes.
I ran to you when in the quiet of my room,
the walls oozed unloving shadows
and my heart could find no connection.
I talked to you in restaurants, in words
I dare never reuse.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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Girl
Best description of faith embodied – what a picture – thank you!
“She dances as though she
could not fall. And though they gasp to pity
her poor body against rocks and ridges,
she continues to move like a beautiful sound,
sure of the hand that guides her.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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Seeing Under Seeing Over
A true soul moment on an authentic soul journey – finding the light in the dark through humble acceptance of all that we are and are not – blind moments, blind corners – the determination to not abandon self no matter what. Those moments when I cannot “even see myself.”
“I have no intellectual
confidence – no real fans.
I have only myself, my darling nothingness.
I have the dark shadow on the darker land.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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No Hope – For Good
Yes! It is so important to LISTEN, instead of HOPE sometimes. Precision of insight into the complexity as usual, Allison Grayhurst!
“But now I see that hope is murder to the seed
of this emerging beginning.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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No Hope – For Good
wow, for me this presents a new angle, supporting a new POV/
Hope as the bad guy, antagonist. Thanx again, friend.
“..never runs alongside something spectacular..” is my favorite/ I liked yr reading, G
namelessneed
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Beyond Instinct or Dreams
A litany to the wholeness of life – sweeping feeling with breath-taking moments of nature’s cathedral of existence and our tinyness of fragmented moments of purpose, blessing, frailty – comfort
“That is why some fear is good, is intimate as love.
And the sky is breathing and the oceans, the seas,
the rivers are breathing. And the beetle and the rooftops too.
Trees sway with the clouds.
The butterfly and guppy are great as mountains.
All chimes of tenderness or tragedy,
seeking its necessary role.
We bear the weight.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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Beyond Instinct or Dreams
I really like this poem, Allison. You have such an inspired word choice and inner voice…
Eric
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First and Only
Breath-taking, heart-felt, strong like wind, tears of joy, meaning, feeling – this poem waters an orchid deep inside me. At a time when pornographic advertising, music videos and the general pornographic imaging matrix we now live in is short circuiting how young people understand the individual self, love and human sexuality – this kind of witnessing and sharing about what is possible in human romantic relationship is critical, needed, hugely important for the sake of the continued existence of truth, hope and possibility related to human sensual and soulful love.
“The first time you sang, I felt
a fiery and surprising happiness.
The first hug we shared on the church steps
as the music played below was like a wave,
strong and soothing
rippling along my back and arms.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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Let The Joy In
Beautiful, Allison. You traverse such long corridors, probing to ponder over possibilities, touching your way to the sunshine. Souls searched as such are sacred soil, sanctuaries of thought and Edens to the eye.
Eric
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Blown
Brilliant. Beautiful! Reads like a delightful bath! And an excellent capturing of life in words, as usual.
*
BRILLIANT! Brilliant. Beautiful! Reads like a delightful bath! And an excellent capturing of life in words, as usual.
Just what I needed to hear today.
“Carried through the radar-stream
into an easeful position where
the goal is getting nearer at a slow pace
and old patterns are disintegrating,
remembered but not renewed.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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A Better Life
Archetypal – so many of us can relate – beautifully written.
“In the beginning
I rode a burning steed,
crossed a violent river
and destroyed my home.
But now my footsteps are slower,
I never climb the rocks or chase
the landed hawk. I collect shells
for my garden and sing to the great
ocean’s waves.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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Only for a time
One of my favorites! Breath-takingly beautiful.
“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.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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The laws that find me bind me
Profound and pungent and defiant and wise as ever.
“Save me from cherished traditions and filing-cabinet dreams.
Save me from my bodily needs. Transform me into an angel or into
the one transformed from the angel – never to come here again,
except to hold my only true love
and to cradle close the heads of my sleeping children.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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Our Time
Gentle, haunting, far away – and close as mouse.
“Last time, a being was born
from this authority, ecstasy became heavy,
exploding a thousand golden flowers.
Next time, I will stop counting and be like time,
there without an echo.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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Tell Me
EXACTLY HOW I FEEL TODAY in my dialogue with Spirit!
“Tell me, deprive me of government, of natural things
that others have, but tell me what you want me ready
for. Hire me with this particular fruit. Let me be noble,
eliminate my doubt, my fear of being wrong or cruel. Take me
into your music, pound my spirit with your weight and
effort. Tell me what rabid ghost I must put down.
Help me
put it down.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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Doubt
PROFOUND in its height and depth and uncanny shape-shifting of language to create the fruit she speaks of at the end of the poem.
“Afterwards, I sit on the altar
of my withdrawal. I will not kneel, rendering
myself a thicker chair. My kind, like
fangs and hooves combined in one secret
creature. A city without history, emotions that
echo but do not deliver. My dress of skin: this place
cannot hold me any longer. Do you see the thumbprint
of the ocean – crater like – in the center of every Earth-rhythm?”
Appreciating The Difficult
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Rest
Wow, this is compelling! POWERFUL!
“I climb the scaffolding
fearless of my natural fears –
lifting mortar into a pale, bricklaying and laying out bricks
to seal a song, ready then
to pull out of the quicksand and feed you
in your darkness.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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Undefined
Fascinating and evocative (summons new images to my mind) Allison. I’ll read it a few more times to properly appreciate it.
Eric
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Undefined
Oh Allison, heart-achy yet heartmoving ahead w/cool clean thoughts, soft clanging symbols & staring into a steamy mirror before stepping out into the hallway. love
namelessneed
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Waiting
Here are my favourite lines in this poem:
I don’t believe
in waiting, being patient while aroused.
I like it because it rings so true with what the experience of waiting is, like reining in the horses.
Damn my world
for changing, for making me ready, but falling behind,
insufficient to nourish this latest being that has arisen.
How the world doesn’t seem to move fast enough, but even if it did, would we catch it? or see? or believe? I feel like we are always so poor.
Anna Mark
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Thinking Outside
This is great – this has the essence of that hard won simplicity which is the greatest prize in poetry.
Seb
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Thinking Outside
I LOVE THIS. It took me right back and described perfectly what I had felt so often in my childhood with those beetles and that time.
“and the high-pitched beetle
fills the wind like a calming drug.”
An exquisite expression of the interiority of outdoor
moments at the change of seasons.
“In this place as summer fades
the quiet demands self-truth.
To pull from inside
a lacerated pride”
An intertwining of inner learning and transformation amidst the language of nature speaking to and healing us, all around us.
“Shadows mend the divided self
and love is an activity
to understand while counting birds
overhead.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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I Will Run
The intensity has kept up all these years. I can see, smell and taste this.
“I will go now
into the constellations
like into a field of marigolds.
I will run now like a drunkard
at dawn. The waves
of morning’s early light
will be my medicine – the blue
& purple & orange thin arches,
all aglowing.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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Show of Light
For me, this is like a love poem to Life.
“Why is it like this – this untimely shift
from requiem to rhapsody
as your voice and manner tilts my heart
like the wind would direct the ripples in a stream?
I hurt alone in bed, resigned
to the falseness of your mouth, then
with morning, the lushness of your love
recites an elegy to my fear and once again,
adoring, I call you one with my own.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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Where are you? I’ve been calling
No one can say it like Allison Grayhurst.
“Are you
here, or just a synchronized inspiration, energy
as icing for one day? It is not enough.
I need you here, not galactic but like a man
before his wedding hour, needing me too,
focused entirely on my fulfilment. Where are you?
In the sparrow-droppings? In the kitten’s fear?”
Appreciating The Difficult
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Grazing on the flow
Gives majesty to life – all sides. Beauty and substance re her grandfather – poetry creating magic of life.
“I love what is between us when truth does not torment,
when I imagine our paths like my grandfather’s
when he rode, relinquishing status, etching out his destiny
on a brokendown caboose, offering jewels of coal.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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In This Garden
Archetypal. Stunning. Satiating to the soul – does justice to loss and shock, as well as faith and beauty.
“all my poems are with me now,
the accumulation of my dance,
the rejoicing, and the coldness of loss.
Around – so close to the daylight.
If I had lived before, then now I am thrown
behind the door where eternity, not life abides.
Mortal year that has replaced my air
with this huffing and bewilderment –
how strong was the wave that has washed me over.
There are great things to come, though death
has forever changed the shape of my smile.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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For My Children
BRILLIANT! A CLASSIC. EVERY WORD.
“Burn until
every muscle aches and the tension pulls
the labyrinth of your heart and mind into a straight line
with straight direction – nothing wasted.
Love, because it is hard, because it is
unusual to have the courage needed to love.
Love, because there is nothing else, because
it is the only heaven known, because it is
the only thing impossible made possible, and
when the dream is over, it will be
the one reality left embedded,
going further than, deeper than
the nucleus of your cells.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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Too Long
This love poem feels so specific and it’s beautiful to read.
Anna Mark
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Draw Near
Love these lines – it is all like a picture reverberating with deep truth and large archetypal knowing.
“One day the drift drew near
and lightning touched the lips of angels.
The light was left only for the mighty.
So we sang. So we sang.
The murderers were shelved
beside the mighty because the only difference
was degree.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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I Sing
Sheer beauty.
“to learn how to better love
and lessen the dread
to call the angels to my side
and help myself shed
to accept myself as fallen
and to help others who have fallen who sing
but have
no words”
Appreciating The Difficult
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The Quiet That Comes
FELT every quiet with every line, bringing those small moments into searing “view”.
“The quiet that comes
at a fork-in-the-road, quiet
as we listen to the direction of the breeze
and hope for a voice to bellow forth at our queue,
is the quiet of waiting, the time between
pressing-play and music.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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Weather
So well expressed and described – it’s reality said poetically of weather and storm – and then the underpinning of it all – time and movement of the seasons, the seasons of a year, the seasons of a life. I LOVE HOW IT ENDS in true stability:
“The road I base all my faith on is under my sleeve
sure of me, regardless if I turn or if I follow.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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The bough breaks
A classic. Words that tingle and weave a depth story. Brilliant.
“and we are sold by the scars upon our throat,
by the longing discarded that never knew it
could end
and by the only relationship we are all
bound to have – our stronghold with or
not with
God.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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The bough breaks
There’s a painting by Peter Doig called ‘Pelican’ which he’d painted from seeing a man catching a Pelican at sea and the man giving him a stare as he passed holding the Pelican out of sight – and this narrative you know because he wrote it all down but there is no trace of the Pelican in his painting and it doesn’t need the narrative to explain its effect.
davidstrachan661
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Within Reach
“I will not be afraid.
I will lift up my heart
and make room for what follows…”
It is, in the end, all that we who stand in life’s struggles can do. We just do not know what a few lines of hope does for another heart plagued or impassioned. Or impaled.
Eric
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Within Reach
Hello Allison — just a quick note to say that it’s a nourishing place to be — here — reading your words on a Friday after my first full week of teaching again ; ) I’m exhausted and find my mind in a good open space to read poems. Thanks for being a WordPress poet ; ) and a great Canadian one.
Anna Mark
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In Spite of Vows
A poem of triumph! Sparkling, sizzling with irrepressible life. A tribute to the power of the life force beyond that which would take it down.
“It is hers – strong ribbed, flushed,
eager to release whatever prevents
its satisfaction from being blessed
and openly achieved.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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Open Valve
Filled with the pungent odour of language wrapping itself around experience,
both inner and outer, clanging out to be heard, felt, understood.
“The forest floor I am captain of
is embroidered with fine strands of rooted hope,
carpets made to curl toes on”
Appreciating The Difficult
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Shyla
Ode to a cat – beautiful, stunning, embracing. Saw it like I never saw it – through this expression of affection and communion with the soul of one’s
cat.
Appreciating The Difficult
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The Tide To Break A Vaulted Pain
Brilliant illustration – visceral and vivid – of the wasteland Eliot spoke of.
Breath-taking, shockingly awake – beauty through it all.
“The silence
rages through the airvents, and the lights
burn to a dull nothing. The white-nothing
of teeth & moon & ice & cloud.
We seek the breath
of freedom’s wake as
magic crumbles all around us in pools of
untouchable beauty.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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Storm
The sense of moment and movement in this is palpable.
Seb
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Our Light Cannot Always Burn Whole
Images rich and dripping with the majesty of their meaning!
“We jog through bitter uneatable harvests.”
“Jackets buttoned to the neck, we move in these sewer shafts”
“On our bed, we are broken, letting our arms rest”
“We tell each other these things are worth
the horror of abominations
accepted as societal norms, atrocities justified as a soldier’s directed bullet.”
“messaging
our blood vessels with deep oxygen, curing, learning
to make saliva and swallow.”
“We tell ourselves sometimes we wish
we could be like those who live
never knowing an intimate tender beauty”
“At times we wish this love didn’t exist, then we could give in
to what lies beyond the cliff, defend our exit, salt the Earth
with a dramatic departure.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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Husband
Okay, that’s it. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better. Thank you, Allison Grayhurst for cleansing us, edifying us – being a beacon in a pornographic world of meaningless shallows that would take down the human potential depth and breadth in this most critical and sacred area of life. Thank you for your living will to do us better.
“Because you are
my vowel, my “welcome home’ and
my sea in summer, I will sit
naked for you, never needing someone else.”
“Because you give wounds without evil,
a perspective of beauty in the weeds
and worries . . . because your faith
is unbroken by bitterness and others stand
against you trying to defeat
your incomparable strength”
Appreciating The Difficult
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For This Face Only You Could Alter
Wow! Now THAT’S a love poem – fervent, deep to the interior.
“the one
celebrated by each breath.”
“Be for me a living arrow, a communion
of conviction and gentleness.”
“spiritual
decision.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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Through Arched Doors
Passionate support of a colleague – vehement affirmation of the cry of justice and truth in a crazy world. Uncanny ability to blend physical imagery and metaphysical concept seamlessly.
“You make us
drum hard
on the back of a beautiful fire.
You hold us near your mind, embracing
rooftops, stairwells, the upper half of
the sky.
There is nothing
as terrible
as your writer’s hands
that strike with light
our narrow hates
& wounds.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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Aged Sculptress
I’ve had a few days away Allison and this is such a wonderful piece to come back to – the clay line was spectacular and the rhythms just perfect. Best wishes Jim
gingerfightback
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Aged Sculptress
I love this one. The speaker has such beautiful images and seems so full of love.
Carl
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Sunset
The craft here is amazing! There’s an essay itself in the way you have paced this. Awesome, in the literal sense of the word.
seb
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Call For The Hour To Clear
Your poetry always leaves me longing breathless.
Oloriel
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Call For The Hour To Clear
Srong, powerful language. Intimate – close – conviction – power of caring and taking a stand.
“But you know
what I am waiting for. Words.
Words that are bone-real like conviction,
words to swallow me “
Appreciating The Difficult
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I Find Clarity
Beautiful, strong, powerful, simple. A declaration – a strong voice.
“I find myself just wanting
to be in the shadow, away from direct
light and the attitude of sentimentality and guilt.
I find my hands are strong and my legs
are capable of walking long distances.
I find that that is enough
to complete me.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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Blind Spot
Brilliant use of language – weaving the mystical with the mundane seamlessly over and over again.
“It is the spot that will not heal,
found on the floor by the fallen curtain.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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Blind Spot
brush strokes…i liken you the artist painting emotion…with shadow and light…
michael mcguirt
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For Every Rain
I love the complexity of dark and light imagery in your poem. very beguiling !
Morgan
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For Every Rain
I love it so much – I could Eat It. Thank you. A Classic in my library.
“For every day of sleep
let me shoulder the rain.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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Lines
Explosive! Searingly wise!
“Under the canopy of my heart
the singing happens but does not happen
the way I can explain.”
“There is nothing to gain
by maintaining the same ongoing pattern.
It must be re-directed, surprised
by its flow to be of any critical use.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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The Ride
Leonard Cohen’s “Suzanne” move over. Wow… I love this. Poetic majesty draped around an Heroine in a haunting and yet intimate Maxwell Parrish painting.
“Again the stars were plucked
from her mind and the world below
leapt up and sponged her with its flame.
That summer she made a wish upon her chains
and walked the deserted farmyards.
The ravens followed her through the weeds
and heat, keeping up conversation. At night
she sang to the beating of the rain…”
Appreciating The Difficult
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The Flood
Beautiful, profound!
“We were made to split the light
with voices singular and clean.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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Childhood Cracked
Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant languaging of things – so exquisite one cares hardly the meaning of the words – they fall so perfectly on the surface of the subconscious mind. Meaning is clearly innate and yet the poetry of the sheer aesthetics of the word formations is enough. No one in my experience, captures and creates artistry of emotions like Allison Grayhurst.
“It fell by the curb
in a lucid slumber
of inarticulate words
like a dew drop
on ice.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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Childhood Cracked
I really like Allison Grayhurst’s poem “Childhood Cracked.” There is something ethereal about it — the words and phrases attract me in a mysterious way. In particular, the second line “a lucid slumber of inarticulate words like a dew drop on ice.” Whew, the phrase pulls up images and feeling of being verbally locked, having something overwhelmingly important to express yet being frozen, unable to speak. And, “Into this autumn / the doll fell” brings thoughts of fractured memories from childhood. The poem gives me a raw chill but not in an uncomfortable way. The images stay with me a while. I enjoyed it greatly.
Thomas F. Wylie.
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Do not define me
This is a wonderful piece. It’s not easy to write defiantly and to do it so gracefully.
Carl
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Do not define me
I can’t tell you how much I like this, Allison – it positively sings!
Anne
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Do not define me
Powerful expression….
Rob Taylor
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I Am This Creature (drenched in mute history)
An honest and moving journey. I especially like the image of circling a solitary stone.
Anna Mark
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I Am This Creature (drenched in mute history)
This is a wonderful piece with strong allusions and strong emotional pull.
Carl
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I Am This Creature (drenched in mute history)
Brilliant poetry – the unspoken SPOKEN!
“I was a girl, knowing nothing of drugs, but helpless
just the same, a slave to all my girlish visions
of the coming days of promised rapture.
I was a young woman, wearing drab and loose clothes,
never looking in a mirror, talking in tongues,
clenching confusion as a crutch and giving glory
to any glory-seeking teacher.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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Our Days
Beautiful! LOVE it. Warm powerful substantial connection and observance of what is most meaningful in relationship.
“In the afternoon when we
finally talk, the brightness of the day
absorbs into your face and what is left
is the movement of our connection
between coffee mugs and our children’s play.
At dinner, you tell me stories.
I see the years behind us, and for a moment the
curtains of heaven draw back before my eyes.’
Appreciating The Difficult
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Our Days
Beautiful Love, Allison.
Anna Mark
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Our Days
Thanks Allison … It is beautiful …
elegamzabello
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The taste
So beautiful! An explosion of the intensity within compellingly written, as usual!
A toast to the power of the interior sensual world that so needs it’s erotic world spoken of in these terms, as opposed to the shallow and hence toxically hiding cover up expressions of pornos or pornography – versus the true eros of erotica being shown, exposed and honoured in this way.
Appreciating The Difficult
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The taste
Wonderful word choice. I could actually taste it all go down! Just ordered this book. Should be getting it soon.
Eric
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The taste
A feast for the senses.
Seb
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The taste (review posted as comment on book The Many Lights of Eden)
Reblogged this on Eric M. Vogt: Life-Writings and commented:
5 out of 5 stars
THE MANY LIGHTS OF EDEN is a Must-Read!
We each read poetry in our own way. We read words from a different angle, a unique vantage point, and like the four different disciples looking from different sets of lenses we discern what stands out to us as of most importance and pen our gospel in our own very personal and spiritual way. I prelude this review with a disclaimer: if you read Allison’s book and see its Light differently, embrace it as affecting you in your unique way. In this review I will embrace what has stood out to my eye.
When I started to read Allison Grayhurst’s collection of poetry entitled THE MANY LIGHTS OF EDEN, I was expecting it to contain verses of the highest quality. I was expecting it to be a journey through spirituality. I was expecting this book to speak of God. I was not disappointed.
Yes, it is a journey: a journey of the heart through youth, anguish, struggle, spiritual awakening, grief, death, love, loss, guilt, struggle, despair, hope, surrender, God, sensuality, imperfection, motherhood, aging, the vanquishing of the devil, indeed, many devils, the inevitable fall from perfection and the casting off of old wineskins for a new one.
Perhaps speaking of this book as a chronicle of spiritual maturing would be more accurate, the realization that there is spirituality within imperfection and that handmade temples cannot hope to compete with the spiritual temples within each of us. By the end of the collection there is a spiritual ascension, a victory over demons of the past now slayed. There is height in Love and Forgiveness in guilt. There is an embracing of the chaos of life and a positive hope for the future. And, I believe, the realization that God is higher than chaos and the Creator is more permanent than perfection.
This journey touched me. It is a journey that every person makes at sometime in their life. And this trail we trod does not end. There is beauty in the trail and its many aspects just as there is beauty from every vantage point of the admirer of a diamond.
THE MANY LIGHTS OF EDEN is a diamond. It is a beautiful collection of insights and I appreciate the many nuances of meaning to Allison Grayhurst’s poetry. Her thoughts and writings are a deep well. Drink from it, for the water is clear and crisp. This collection is a MUST-READ.
—-Eric M. Vogt, author of LETTERS TO LARA and PATHS AND POOLS TO PONDER
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It is not like hell
Brilliant. Another masterpiece of pungent, vivid language uniting passion and word to give expression to depth of feeling of life.
Appreciating The Difficult
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Beyond The Grave
This is very real, and has some breathtaking images.
The description of memory is particularly strong and affecting to me.
Anne
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Beyond The Grave
Your poetry bleeds and sings at the same time. Grieving paints in both colors and in black and white. Wonderful portrait!
Eric
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On Tour
love this – it reads like a song, like a warm and soft poetic blanket, like a hum, like a beauty ever so intimate and profound and real and true.
“He hurts with uncommon intensity –
liberation balanced between his two lips.
Like the slow hum of rain, I hear him
treading the snowed-in cities, hear his kiss
like a prayer of protection, flowering.
Freedom stitched to his smile,
he crosses the sea he’s never seen before,
as he carries his guitar
like a lover’s warm hand.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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Dostoyevsky
Intense, gripping, aliveness – the raw, fierce, stunning grasp of a Great!
“Deep-set eyes like the eyes
of some brooding god,
hammering
the earth to pieces.
Breath of an invalid, gambler
& saint, weighed down by
sentiment.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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Dostoyevsky
Amazing, any words I would say I are not worthy of the beauty of this poem.
Oloriel
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A Newly-Patterned Fingerprint
Is this heaven? a wish for heaven on earth? It has such idealism in it. It expresses things that I often wait for.
Anna Mark
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A Newly-Patterned Fingerprint
ESPECIALLY –
“It’s the end
of my kind,
the last of my line
unfolding. And then
all of it will be different –
both the edge and the enlightenment
both the things precise
and the things undefined.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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When Air-borne Beings Fall
Reblogged this on The ObamaCrat.Com™ and commented:
Your work is so raw & emotional Allison.
Jueseppi B.
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When Air-borne Beings Fall
I love it!
“I would give my capsized house,
my bed, my favourite corner
just to feel the rise of their quickening tides
clap over my bones & spirit. To know the fury
of feathers skilfully slicing
the skin of clouds. I would say this
is worth my enemy’s claw, worth a mouth
full of laughter. I could speak again
of love without weight, of a saffron flower
exposing all to the sun.” !!!
Appreciating The Difficult
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What face?
Stunning! Allison Grayhurst shapes words like she shapes clay – with passion, compassion, wisdom and worth – making life sacred – time, human, shape and form.
Appreciating The Difficult
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What face?
once again, I find myself semi-suddenly somewhere else, inside.
It’s always a pleasure & welcome strain
to take you in/ Thanx again
namelessneed
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River
This a beautiful journey. I love this one!
Carl
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River
OH MY GOD… this is sheer poetry – about one of the most sacred of human experiences FINALLY being done justice to in one of those rare instances when it is DONE JUSTICE TO. Thank you for your depth, your breadth, your breath, your words and your fleshly soul.
Appreciating The Difficult
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Perfect Love
Wow….you write just a beautifully under Jocelyn Kain as you do as Allison Grayhurst.
Jueseppi B.
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Perfect Love
A amazing story of love. I like the short chapters. Each with meaning and purpose.
johncoyote
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Morning Glory
I really enjoyed how this builds and builds, and the final lines are like an epiphany : ‘I open a room …’
Wonderful poem, and so appropriate for springtime too. 🙂
I hope the sun shines for you today, Allison.
Anne
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Morning Glory
Oh my god, how beautiful.
“And from the beginning the miracle
sat on our shoulder like a butterfly”
“I give no more from the side of my mouth,
for the seductive shadow and the running crowd.
Plain as the path to heaven, I kiss the dread
and let it drift down sea. I open a room
where the light catches my breath.
I am breathing a morning glory.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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Morning Glory
a beautiful poem of release and openness, I receive it
Anna Mark
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Sight at Zero
Reblogged this on The ObamaCrat.Com™ and commented:
I Love this….thank you Allison. You brighten up a blog dedicated to politics and current news events, which are not always happy subjects, with your word magic. Thank you.
Jueseppi B.
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Sight at Zero
Brilliant! Full of Meaning, feeling, reeling stunning language capturing the poignancy and complexity of exquisite, if not always comfortable, human emotion!
“lovers assassinate love
for the sensation of pride.”
“It is my jealousy
that has woken, generous
with hate.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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By This Light
wow, this piece is beautiful, and written expertly.
abichica
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By This Light
A CLASSIC – a true love poem not only to a personal breath-taking love, but to the love of humanity and to the articulation of our shared human landscape for glory.
Appreciating The Difficult
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It’s been months
Just wonderful, Allison. I hope you are still in that place.
Eric
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It’s been months
Reblogged this on The ObamaCrat.Com™ and commented:
Like a fine expensive bottle of Merlot, Allison just gets better with time. Thank you for this
Jueseppi B.
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It’s been months
This says so many things to me, and I feel like I can identify with so much of it. I read a few times and I’m saving it to read some more. There’s real beauty here.
Carl
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Slice the pony
Brilliant, beautiful. Full of the power and majesty of the wholeness of life.
“Because of so many things
lost and remade, I have been left without a plan
but to lean without shame or resistance on
the bosom of God. That is the role, the flesh
and backbone combined.”
“Because I know it is all for you and all is given
by you – we sing, we paint our stories – this story
rich with surprises and laden with disappointments.
I sing and paint and wish for other things,
though I am satisfied with love and with the way
you see fit to carry me across.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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Denial
Myself feeling torn, weighed down, distracted, pulled apart by various pressures and desires of my own heart–I found this very comforting…thank you for a good read.
Abigail Burhenne
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Denial
The kind of adamant resistance you show to not being caught by the dirge – I love you for it!
Appreciating The Difficult
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The Holding On
I LOVE this! Passionate, strong, solid, vital, instructive. BEAUTY. Wow.
“Over the highest evergreen I race
with my emblem. I lost
nearly everything I cared for to gain
a new soul. I lost a passion and gained
a rage against death and the wilderness outside.
I drink from the underground and am blessed.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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Daughter – almost five
Reblogged this on The ObamaCrat.Com™ and commented:
Beautiful tribute from a great poet to her daughter. Thank you Allison.
Jueseppi B.
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Daughter – almost five
Reads like a dream, like a song, like a touch – a tenderness filling my heart like a strong feather.
“I live inside the gentleness of your mind.”
“In dreams I find you
beside me for always,”
AND OH MY GOD…
“your eyes rich as the colours of earth
and your rhythm, profoundly ancient
like the dance of a seabird upon water.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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Underline
I LOVE IT! The power of myth, magic and mystery – like a fairy tale!
“By the last leaf changing
and the voice of rivers calling,
by the presence of an
unwilling hero
a great light is born.”
“The aspirations never hooked up,
but neither
did they die.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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Now You Know
Brilliant! Peppered with keeper lines like bullets of insight in a gray world!
“Now you know the honeydew nectar
spread across the light – like a
limit – sweet but blurring.”
“agitated
like a mind unable to hold one clear sentence”
“You do not exist the way you once thought.”
“never finding the way out.
It has been this way.”
“Almost
your dream is gone.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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Preparing
It’s a beautiful poem, alluding to the marvels of a life’s journey.
Carl
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Preparing
Reblogged this on Eric M. Vogt: Life-Writings and commented:
What a great poem by Allison Grayhurst! If you haven’t read her, you should. 🙂 Eric
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Preparing
Love it! Crisp, feeling, spacious, promising in its beauty.
“I am waiting for motivation, for a clarity of purpose
I sunk under the St. Lawrence rapids. When I was a child,
I watched those rapids without fear,
stood close to the edge and never wondered about the slippery underfoot,
never worried about the shadflies arriving like a plague of river insects
or about my loneliness that turned into a ghost companion
comforting me in those grey Quebec afternoons.”
“But here, in this riverless realm,
I cannot place my hands down. I cannot stretch wide enough
to feel whole.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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Just Believing
“I will turn while in my days of darkness
and feast upon fireflies.”
I keep turning your opening words over and over in my mind, Allison. It sings like a mythical song. Closely identified with the theme of your piece.
Eric
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Just Believing
BRILLIANT – and dead on! Glorious, poetically transporter!
“A new groove will capture my flight
and lift chairs from the floor.
I will be the one whose radio still sounds,
whose sandwich has been eaten
and whose telephone calls have meaning.
It is just a matter of believing in mercy
and not much more.
It is appreciating the smell of my baby’s neck
and the times when reading with my child.”
“The days will turn over
and the unexpected will enter
to bless then break
my fall.”
Appreciating The Difficult
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In Front
Very nice as always, you maintain quality as easy as gentle breathing – always a joy to read your work
Bruce
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Intimacy
That’s fantastic! Well done! Your poems are always superb!
redplace
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Intimacy
Loved the cadence in this one Allison – beautiful
gingerfightback
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Intimacy
Congratulations – a breathtaking poem alluding to a breathtaking experience!
The rhythm of this poem seems to capture the moment and then release it. Beautifully written.
Anne
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When Small Things Die
This poem really grabs me this evening. It has such agony in it and to have held it in your hands for its last breaths…the image of a “feeble resurrection” is one that has never occurred to me and I find it very striking. How can a resurrection be feeble except that somehow we bring our weakness into heaven…
Anna Mark
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When Small Things Die
The beauty and the hardship of life paid tribute to in sharply emotive and compelling language art
Appreciating The Difficult
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Green Haven and You
I really enjoyed this. It was especially nice to close my eyes and listen, your voice I assume.
prewitt1970
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Green Haven and You
Beautiful, breath-taking, powerful tribute to one gone – and how life is not in this dimension or another, but both, through the poetic painting of our true consciousness.
Appreciating The Difficult
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Green Haven and You
This is a great piece. I felt as though I was floating with the scenes.
Carl
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Altered Behind City Gardens
OH MY GOD – I love this! Beautiful, breath-taking – true, true love – soul love, soul mates.
Appreciating The Difficult
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Turtle
So intimately and grandly connected to this small animal life. A true gift to be able to sense at this level.
Appreciating The Difficult
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What Hands Can Hold
A classic. One of my favorite. Peaceful, brilliant in its beauty.
Appreciating The Difficult
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Making Love
This is a great piece. I love the flow and the arc of it.
Carl 
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Making Love
Stunningly beautiful! True Eros – on the perfect Day!
“I hold you. You are my language
dying to be born.
You are the one I will never recover from,
the only companion my heart has known.
I cannot envy the stars, or
the soft-spoken trees.
For there is landscape
enough, here beside you,
where all of heaven’s disguises
glow bright,
transparent.”
Appreciating The Difficult