An Ode to Sycamore Canyon

Sycamore Canyon 7-22-2010

I came to say “good-bye” to you,

I thought you’d make me cry,

but you have changed so much

and now I wonder why?

Your wild slopes have been torn up,

machinery rumbles on,

belching out its black exhaust

‘till all the birds have gone.

The bird song has diminished

and traffic noise increased.

though beauty still surrounds you,

You’ve lost your sense of peace!

I found a few fine sparrows,

the cactus wrens still call,

I walked right by an owl,

it made me feel quite small.

I think I’ll just remember you

the way you used to be,

there’s no stopping all this progress

but this Progress ain’t for me!

~Kathie Adams Brown (January 16, 2014)

Atmospheric Questions

(Mt. Fagan Sky July 26, 2008 Acrylic on Canvas by kathiesbirds)

Can I ever grasp this great expanse

this wide vault,

this atmosphere?

I reach to hold it to my breast,

I fling my arms towards emptiness.

Why do I want to gather it,

this wide expanse of openness?

~Kathiesbirds (July 25, 2008)

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