Poem for a Winter's Day

I watch the steady fall of rain against the dove gray sky

Outside my window a few snowflakes fall like tiny pearls among liquid rhinestones

And in the hedgerow the sparrows gather with juncos hopping

Like slate colored shadows

The cardinals shyly watching are the only flash of color on this stormy day.

Here inside from where I watch the fire crackles on the hearth

Its warmth pressing against my back.

It is a pleasant place to be, inside looking out

And I feel the primeval need of this moment

In this technological world I now live in.

I pour myself another cup of tea, and settle in.

~Kathie Adams Brown (January 12, 2012)

Old Tree (Part 3)

Old Tree knows

The ways of the woods

The life that goes on and

The life that ends.

Old tree knows what renewal is

As each spring it is reborn again and again.

Yet old tree knows that when its time is done

It’s time to let go, release and become

One with the earth from which it was born

Supplying new roots with fresh nutrients from its tree bones.

~Kathie Adams Brown (December 23, 2011)

Old Tree (Part 2)

Old Tree,

I want to reach up to that cerulean blue sky,

I want to sway in the wind when it passes by,

I want to reach down with roots to grasp the earth strong,

Old tree, like you, I just want to belong.

~Kathie Adams Brown

Old Tree (Part 1)

Old tree in the woods,

Quiet and tall

Standing there day after day

Through storms and sunshine,

Sunrises and sunsets

Leaf drop and new leaves

and all that you’ve seen,

if I come close and listen

will you whisper your secrets to me,

or, lend me your strength

so I can reach down,

take hold, and grow

strong roots like you?

~Kathie Adams Brown (12-23-11)

Autumn in the Oaks Woods

There is a softness in the woods in autumn,
A stillness on a calm day
When leaves drift downwards
and pine needles tumble
and the air is pungent with dirt and dampness.
It is then that moss grows thick like velvet
on tree trunks, rocks and ground,
when the rust littered forest floor
crackles where you step.
Yes, there is a softness
a gentle good-bye to summer,
and a hush before winter begins.

~Kathie Adams Brown (11-10-11)

A River Flows

When tragedy comes,
A river flows
from my heart is a great swell of tears and emotions
and I am swept away
only to be tossed upon the shore
farther along in my life
bruised and battered
by the rocks and debris
lying unseen beneath the churning rapids.

Then, tossed upon the sand;
lying in the gravel,
my heart thunders in my chest
until it gains its quiet.
And I lie there in the sunshine
or the moonlight,
whatever the case may be
and breathe earth scents
and water, and life,
and rise again.

~Kathie Adams Brown (October 12, 2011)

One Single Impression


Prompt 189: River

The Artist in Me

There is an artist in me,

A stirring in my soul, a creativity I need to indulge,

So why do I deny it?

Art must be honored,

Preserved,

Expressed.

I will find my way out there,

And inward,

To that busy place,

Quiet place,

Active place

Of creativity.

~Kathie Adams Brown (October 5, 2011)


OSI Promt 188: Language