Tag Archives: poem

What is

Posted on by Allison Grayhurst

What is

 

 

What is the end

but a decision made

on a balcony, in a storm,

in solitude – evoking the

eternal and finite as one, in one

swift movement?

 

What is peace

but a landscape

with satellite trees and a warm moon

caressing the grasslands and the river

beside the grasslands humming

the electric-nerve sound

of its existence?

 

What is the beginning

but emptiness

after a flood or a fire, giving back

to God what has always been God’s

and then standing, maybe stepping,

free and unprotected from gravity

and from time?

 

What is it now

to watch my mother changing,

deteriorating, needing more and more,

hurting more and more?

To be privileged to love her, to be

her sun and star and the daughter

her great soul deserves as it readies

to depart, as it takes this journey –

pitching clear one minute and confused

the next, underlining the creases in books,

reading out loud the words of our Jesus –

 

grace so grand and divine, it is terrifying

for both of us, knowing what is ahead,

trusting that great love to carry her

mercifully, and even tenderly,

through that final door.

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Copyright © 2024 by Allison Grayhurst

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First published in “Raven Cage Zine” March 2024

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KziCD-bCLEHpu7HuqF-ipNutR-5Bf_Gx/view?pli=1

https://allisongrayhurst.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/RavenCageZine88.pdf

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You can listen to the poem by clicking below:

https://allisongrayhurst.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/What-is.m4a?_=1

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Peel

Posted on by Allison Grayhurst

Peel

 

 

Orange peel

peel away my

heartless woes,

condemn again

the general rule

and allow the lotus

to bloom.

 

Remarkable day

that snatches away

the mystique from the mystics,

horseback rides to the summit

then descends at high velocity,

never losing ground or footing.

 

Power in my mind, I trust what I believe,

finally not fooled by the artificial

or displays of unquestioning confidence.

Finally my hope is tied to my faith.

 

I squeeze the fruit and smile in amazement

as I taste its intoxicating droplets,

let them pool in my mouth,

sensually reviving, loosen the grip

then drink.

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Copyright © 2024 by Allison Grayhurst

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Published in “Setu” April 2024

https://www.setumag.com/2024/03/Lit-Art-Culture-Journal.html

https://www.setumag.com/2024/03/poetry-allison-grayhurst.html

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Published in “Medusa’s Kitchen” March 2024

https://medusaskitchen.blogspot.com/2024/03/maelstrom.html

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You can listen to the poem by clicking below:

https://allisongrayhurst.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Peel.m4a?_=2

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That End

Posted on by Allison Grayhurst

That End

 

 

That end was a sound,

a sharp breeze that cracked

the funeral casket.

What love could happen, happened

then expanded thick and buttery

like a pleasant dream stirring

in the early morning hours.

I held your hand and you glittered

with a beautiful depth fully your own.

That end was employment

into a purposeful labour, meaningfulness

hitting hard and sideways.

 

Your hands are an intellectual’s, tender

as they have always been.

The concrete blockade is past us.

The foul scent repeating-shame has gone away,

replaced with an uplifting aroma.

 

We belong to each other, on the edge

of this unexperienced ecstasy, starting to bud,

flesh-out, claim our place on the stem –

fed from the anchored richness below and from

the pure colouring-sun, witnessing.

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Copyright © 2024 by Allison Grayhurst

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.

First published in “Raven Cage Zine” March 2024

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KziCD-bCLEHpu7HuqF-ipNutR-5Bf_Gx/view?pli=1

https://allisongrayhurst.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/RavenCageZine88.pdf

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.

You can listen to the poem by clicking below:

https://allisongrayhurst.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/That-End.m4a?_=3

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