The Way of the Desert

Stealthily she comes on powerful wings,

dropping from the sky,

darting between houses,

as if they were canyon walls,

eyes fixed on her prize;

the hapless Gambel’s quail

with her brood of chicks feeding beneath my feeders.

The Cooper’s Hawk is spotted!

The birds EXPLODE with fear!

The quail run for cover

beneath the sheltering green skirts of a desert broom.

The hawks lands on my feeder pole and scours the yard with a hunter’s eye.

I run from the house like a screaming banshee to chase her away.

The hawk hesitates, then flies.

She is not afraid of me!

She, too, has hungry mouths to feed!

This is the way of the desert.

~kathie adams brown (May 29, 2013)

In Praise of Weeds

hesperus in Andover, MA 5-12-12

Tenacious things,

Opportunist,

Prolific reproducers,

Invades of lawns,

Rejuvenators of abandoned fields,

Seed producing,

Life giving,

Food for birds,

Decorators of highway edges,

Wildflowers in meadows,

Dandelion sunbursts in a field of green;

Weeds can be your enemy or…

Your friend.

~kathie adams brown (May 21, 2013)

I am the Velveteen Rabbit

Body misshapen,

Fur worn off,

Scars on legs, arms, face,

I have lived my life

And my body shows it.

I look in the mirror

And wonder where the girl I use to know went,

with flawless skin and shapely curves.

I look in the mirror and I see evidence

—of a life lived

—marks on my body

—each tells a story

some happy, some sad, all LIFE!

I am the Velveteen Rabbit

And I have become REAL.

~kathie adams brown (May 21, 2013)

That's When I Need Beauty

When there is darkness all around me—

that’s when I need light.

When there is ugliness displayed—

that’s when I need beauty.

When the man-made world overwhelms—

that’s when I seek out Nature

to soothe and restore me,

to refresh my spirit,

to remind me that all is not lost,

that there will always be light, beauty, and hope.

~kathie adams brown (May 10, 2013)

The Monster Among Us

Living next door in the boarded up house

Dwelt a monster dressed as a man

Walking among us, smiling at you

He is your neighbor you never knew

Of the dark secret hiding inside

In the dark house

In those dark rooms

With no one to see,

No one to hear

Their silent cries.

Their life was a nightmare no one should live

Every day filled with horror— no way to escape,

And the MONSTER FED ON HIS PREY.

He devoured their souls,

Then, he walked among us

And we didn't know.

How did he hide all that evil inside?

Inside his shell,

Inside his house,

Inside his empty eyes?

Could no one see the monster inside?

Could no one hear those little girl’s cries?

~kathie adams brown (May 9, 2013)