Friday, July 31, 2015

The Fog of Summer



The damp days of summer,
The green and the gray,
The wet grass on bare feet,
fog rolling across the lawn in gossamer curtains.
I feel a chill in the air,
The harbinger of change—a hint
of Autumn in late July.

There are more summer days ahead,
filled with sunshine, sand, and warmth.
There are waves to ride and sandcastles to build, but
always the winter chill
barks like a dog on a chain
tied up at the back of the barn
where I try to forget him,
and hope I will silence him with starvation.

But he will bide his time and grow strong again.
One day he will break his chain
and glide over the north county in his loping stride
bringing ice on his breath
and snow in his fur
to banish the summer sun
and the autumn plenty.
He carries hunger in his belly
and gobbles up hope.


~Kathie Adams Brown (July 20, 2015)

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Summer Rain


I just want to sit and listen to this rain
I want to turn off the manmade world and let Nature sooth my soul.
The repeated phrases of a vireo’s song are dripping from the trees.
Tufted titmice, gray as this stormy sky, scold and call from foliage
embracing me like verdant arms.
This summer rain in the north woods is a lovely place to be;
If the earth is my mother, then,
I am snuggling into her breast
and listening to her beating heart,
and this rain is not the sound of weeping but,
a soothing lullaby.


~Kathie Adams Brown (July 1, 2015)