Tag Archives: poem

If

Posted on by Allison Grayhurst

If

 

 

If we live

through this hangman’s touch,

outrun this heatwave and find

an oasis in spite of the odds,

then we will be sealed

in the summer of our belonging.

 

We will take only what we are given

to own, dress up occasionally, mostly

be charmed by sweet and simple delights.

 

If we survive

the devouring vultures, the

vanity of self-punishment and

the unbreakable natural law,

then our breadbasket will be

overflowing with leftovers,

our hearts will be still in the peace

of eternal love, loving this day and the next

as lovers do, happy to serve,

happy to fill the bathtub

and soak.

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Copyright © 2023 by Allison Grayhurst

amazon.com/author/allisongrayhurst

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

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First published in “Hobo Camp Review” May 2023

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

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

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You can listen to the poem by clicking below:

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Poetry is Breath

Posted on by Allison Grayhurst

Poetry is Breath

 

       Poetry is breath,

not a sailboat sunk

decades ago mid-ocean,

far from any desire for discovery

let alone retrieval.

       Poetry is everything,

not the thing never talked about,

avoided into non-existence

because it is uncomfortable

and far too strange.

       Poetry is like God,

only not God, but tied to God

like a puppet to the puppeteer’s strings

dependant on God for any and all

animation.

       Poetry is coming,

burning down the aisle

to its lasting consummation.

       Deny it and it will by-pass you,

and its gift, its magnificence

(like a first love that feels

that first love unending)

you will never experience.

       Poetry is not song.

In some ways (thunder-lightning beat)

more primal.

In some ways (blood-curdling word connections)

less.

       Poetry is not like birth

is more like death –

only mentioned when necessary,

but always inevitably

necessary.

       Poetry is breath.

If you love it, you will know it

like a lover, satisfying, surprising,

strenuously demanding.

If you pretend it is not for you,

then it is not,

and you will go through your days

without it, missing that meal,

that next-layer rare connection

that has no substitute or important equal.

 

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Copyright © 2023 by Allison Grayhurst

amazon.com/author/allisongrayhurst

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Published in “Cultural Reverence”  June 2023

https://theculturalreverence.wordpress.com/2023/06/07/poetry-is-breath-a-poem-by-allison-grayhurst/

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Published in “Fevers of the Mind” June 2023

https://feversofthemind.com/2023/06/05/a-poetry-showcase-allison-grayhurst-june-2023/

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Published in “Cultural Reverence” June 2023

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You can listen to the poem by clicking below:

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You Heard Me

Posted on by Allison Grayhurst

You Heard Me

 

 

You heard me speaking

and you shook the floor,

loosening the dust and devastating

sadness until that floor

was dismantled and replaced

by a stronger, easier-to-clean

platform, until the miracle

rose unpolluted in a continual

swelling, sinking the darkness for good,

calling brother to sister to the truth

of your perfect temple, worshiping the work

of love, relieving the weight of chaos.

 

You heard me and I know you are perfect,

more real than the burrowing fears inside my head,

more powerful than the churning sickness of

anxiety that overtakes my gut, overtakes and takes

me away from you.

 

You who heard me,

through paralysis and poison,

through my weak overtures, ripped away

my unhealthy accumulations, cleansing

my desires that missed the mark,

until I saw and committed

to one voice, one priority, listening.

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Copyright © 2023 by Allison Grayhurst

amazon.com/author/allisongrayhurst

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

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First published in “Synchronized Chaos” May 2023

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

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You can listen to the poem by clicking below:

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