Red Ribbons

Cardinals are the bright
red ribbons in the landscape
calling, "cheer, cheer, cheer"

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)

The Birds of Christmas

Christmas Cardinal painting 2006

Lo the birds of Christmas

are searching for some seeds

on winter's frosty mornings

so remember nature's needs,

and toss a little fodder

to our feathered friends

in thankfulness for songs they sing

when this long winter ends.

~Kathie Adams Brown (December 9, 2004)

The Colors of Christmas