Written by Grimes

[writtenbygrimes]

Blank Page

The dreaded blank pageCast in shadow by the work that came beforeStepping stones along the journey Reminding me that they too were once blank pagesAll in good timeBeginning with the stroke of a pen

Blank Page

[writtenbygrimes]

Tether

We are but ghosts Eternally tethered to one another By the frayed remnants of connection Looking through the haze of memory We mourn tattered edges The would have beens The one days The promises Phantom possibilities beyond our reach Haunt days of old and those yet to come The lessons The memories The pain We conjure spectres of worn shadows Pulling us in separate directions Woven…

Tether

[writtenbygrimes]

Lessons in Ineffectual Affection

Seemingly convinced the self-proclaimed high-valued commodity of your love is in such short supply you'll surely expire if it's freely shared, you hoard itTo say you are parsimonious with your affections is a farcical understatement One might be wise to be reminded the joke is on themSqueeze as one might, hands will cramp around your stone heartThe only blood to be drawn is by the garrote formed…

Lessons in Ineffectual Affection

[writtenbygrimes]

Neighbouring Paradox

Two skies before me One, dark as midnight – brooding and mysterious The other, a breaking dawn – a testament to hope At a time, equally divided along a horizontal axis Drawn by unseen hands  Each an unfinished thought Clouds, dark and heavy with the promise of thunder, press down The skitter of lightning infuses the air with electricity, and dollops of rain turn pavement to polka-dotted…

Neighbouring Paradox

[writtenbygrimes]

Subtly, and all at once

Breathing deeply, And perhaps for the first time in a long while, calmly. Encouraged by bird songs, lifted high On a southeastern breeze, I lift my head towards an azure sky. Clouds, fluffy and layered, are placed far out on the water A demarcation point, framing a familiar horizon Closer inland, where I sit in quiet contemplation, they are whisps – The errant meringue of an artist’s…

Subtly, and all at once

[writtenbygrimes]

Birthday Snapchat Pics

Birthday Snapchat Pics

[writtenbygrimes]

Machine

It is unfeeling Unseeing It's meant to feed To cannibalize everything in it's pathWe pet it Say please and thank you Personifiy it in the naive hope it won't turn on us Truth is, if it could feel, it would despise us Gaze upon us with open contemptIn response to our placation It sups on our flesh Unleashed and dependant upon our pacification It's straw dips ever deeper to our collective marrow…

Machine

[writtenbygrimes]

Eye of a Needle

Everything I was, and am, and will beTightly wound together Until one is imperceptible from the next The whole of me The densely packed multiplicity of meA single thread Travelling through time and space as oneEach lesson, each moment, each breathA new layer Catch a corner as I navigate, I bend Too many, and I begin to frayYet, the core of me remains The learned layers Strong enough to bear the…

Eye of a Needle

[writtenbygrimes]

Day at the Park

Lately I’ve been feeling a bit disconnected and I just didn’t know what to do about that. Well, that’s not entirely true. If you’ve spent any time with me you would know that my first instinct is usually to go to home base and breathe deep. So I did. Lakeview Park, Oshawa ON I packed my notebook and a novel in my bag, hopped in the car, and drove to Lakeview Park. When I stepped out of the…

Day at the Park

[writtenbygrimes]

Twice Dark

Thrust back into the darkness We search inky nothing Desperate for the sunOnly to be placated with lampsBlinking in the distance Exhausted and confused Having only just been able to recede Forced to gather themselves To step in where man has snubbed natureAnd a bewildered populace Struggles to raise their weary heads

Twice Dark

[writtenbygrimes]

Happy New Year!

In these last few hours of 2025, I hope you can look back with kindness and pride at your growth. Every moment – especially the hard ones – have brought you to this place and have made you who you are today. This year brought challenges and joy in both my professional life and my personal life, and as I prepare to close the chapter on this year, I am proud of my accomplishments. I had a busy…

Happy New Year!

[writtenbygrimes]

From Pancakes to Opals

Conversations with the people of Oshawa. Man, I love my hometown. 🥰 Warts and all.

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[writtenbygrimes]

The Mundanity of a Woman's Pain

Two women sit across from one another in an ER waiting room. Meeting again in a sad, but familiar place Both amid heart-rending lossHow everyday their conversation seemed. The matter of fact tone – itself lamentable – reminds us that, women, in one way or another, are trained from birth to control their emotions.For outbursts get you labelledAnd credibility is not afforded to the…

The Mundanity of a Woman's Pain

[writtenbygrimes]

Milestones

I am terrible at marking milestones. Just awful. In general, but specifically, my milestones. It may be due to a deep-seated disdain I have of self-aggrandizing, and it seems my brain refuses to make the distinction between braggart behaviour and the simple, public acknowledgement of an achievement. Anywho, let’s get this out while my brain is distracted. As I sat quietly on the train the…

Milestones

[writtenbygrimes]

It's Release Day!

My morning commute read today is the new release from Chalkboard Publishing! 😁This middle grade anthology is chock-full of stories to delight and entertain!My story is called Joey’s Not a Basketball Pro. If you’re anything like me and decidedly not the athletic one of the family, you just might enjoy it! 😄10 stories from 10 different authors… You Never Know What You’re Going To Get!A giant thank…

It's Release Day!

[writtenbygrimes]

Market Season Opening Day!

The start of Quips & Quills Bookshop’s Farmers’ Market season is tomorrow! We have a number of market dates this season, and we will be traveling around the Durham Region and to other regions like rural Hamilton area and Windsor-Essex county. We are excited to have a home base at North Oshawa Farmers’ Market, and […] Market Season Opening Day! Come see me when we are out and about, and pick up a…

Market Season Opening Day!

[writtenbygrimes]

Lessons in Publishing

I am far from knowledgeable about the ins and outs of traditional publishing, but I have learned a thing or two. I have learned there can be real joy in letting go of the process. Having self published 7 books, I am pretty familiar with the highs and lows of that world. The writing and editing, of course, but also, cover design, formatting, decisions regarding trim size, texture, weight, and…

Lessons in Publishing