Dark Shadows in the Trees

Grackles

Black shadows in the oak trees

Feathered lumps beneath russet leaves,

Do I really see you there

Or is my mind playing games?

Like dark thoughts in corners—will you stay,

Or fly away?

~kathie adams brown (November 3, 2014)

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)

With a Splash of Red Stayed my Fear Hiding

With a splash of red stayed my fear hiding

In a small black box

Before the dim dusk.

Four fat cats sat high and indifferent

And the cheerless self crawled behind.

Slower than the non-existent

The dawdling cruel thought

The gray common thought.

Still the self cowered at the black sky

While sweet harp music played behind.

Whisper through lips stayed my fear sliding

Sliding the spine up

Before the dim dusk.

Four fat cats sat high and indifferent

The towering trees cast shadows behind.

Thorny it’s not, like wide-eyed wakefulness

The fat ponderous thought

The slow sluggish thought.

There stood myself at a black mountain

The satisfied stone whispered again.

Rocks in heart stayed my fear hiding

The flat-lined heart kept me behind.

Brighter they’re not than comfortable life

The dull fat thoughts

The squat relaxed thoughts.

Still looming large over the red valley

The unfortunate self stifled again.

With a splash of red stayed my fear hiding

In a small black box

Before the dim dusk.

Four fat cats sat high and indifferent

Truth rose up and set me free!

~kathie adams brown (April 30, 2013)

NaPoWriMo 2013/30 Poems in 30 Days

Prompt 30:  Rewrite a poem using words that mean the opposite

This poem is my version of the opposite of All in Green Went my Love Riding by e.e. cummings.

Skywatch Friday: Shuttered

(Photo by Gus taken May, 2008 with Nikon D80)

In darkness I peer out

Through the shutters of my mind

To find a world of color

Playing in the sky.

~kathiesbirds (June 19, 2008)

Skywatch Friday is hosted by Wiggers World.

View my other Skywatch photo at Sycamore Canyon.