The Moon is Calling Me

The full moon is calling me

I slip outside into the night,

I follow the path to the midnight bay,

with water flat,

moon puddles like sparkles on black.

I see my old friend, The Bear,

watching over me from the sky,

She points me to my True North

where her Little Bear resides.

I hear the ancient moon songs,

I feel the ancient moon tides,

I dance my own moon dance

In purple shadows and silvery light,

Rejoicing in this wildness:

I have been inside too long.

~Kathie Adams Brown (September 8, 2014)

Timberdoodle Day

Twitter down, twitter down, tumble down flight,

Peenting, peenting in the gray light,

Spiral, spiral, catch a quick sight,

Rock-a-bird, rock-a-bird in the damp night.

~Kathie Adams Brown (April 10, 2014)

NaPoWriMo 2014

A Winter's Dream

Swiftly on this winter's night
Orion takes his stealthy flight
across the dark and spangled sky
as the cold night slowly passes by,
and we mere mortals stop and stare
into the dome quite unaware
of heavenly battles being fought;
of dreams released and being caught
in sleepy heads on pillows laid--
it's in the stars that dreams are made!

~kathie adams brown (January 6, 2014)

Imaginary Garden with Real Toads

A Gift from Nature on Christmas Eve

Winter solstice is two days spent,

a half moon floats in the velvet dome of night,

I see Orion falling towards the western horizon,

a pale constellation over city lights.

Here in the desert the cool night breeze

wafts around my legs bare beneath my robe,

for I have run outside in response to the wild calls

of two great horned owls with romance in their hearts!

Love is in the air and on the rooftops of Tucson

on this Christmas Eve

I’m listening to the owl choir

as heaven and nature sing

on this not so silent night, this Holy Night,

I stand beneath Ursa Major

so thankful for this gift.

~Kathie Adams Brown (December 24, 2013)

Nonsense at Night

And indeed, there will be time to wonder

Do I dare and do I dare count the birds

Again and again?

Are there birds where I will be?

Will the birds fly to me?

Will I know what I see?

Counting birds like counting crows                                  

It’s all in the way it goes

Should I learn to like this thing?

Will it take me over, make me sing?

I am counting all the time,

So often there’s not time to rhyme.

I missed my poem, I missed my song

and now the birds will sing along,

The bottom line, at least for me

when you’re tired, don’t write poetry!

~kathie adams brown (April 26, 2013)

NaPoWriMo 2013/30 Poems in 30 Days

A Walk Along the Hudson

Photo by Kathie Brown 2012

Water

Melts the bright lights

On the Hudson River

Where waves lap the shoreline

At night

~Kathie Adams Brown (April 5, 2013)

NaPoWriMo2013 Day 5: Cinquain

A Symphony of Silence

Silence…Is a blanket of calm

Wrapped around me—

A stillness in my heart and my soul,

A quiet place of peace.

Silence…is a gag

Holding back my words,

Restraining my thoughts,

Restraining my voice,

Keeping a secret,

Allowing a lie to exist.

Silence is the non-sound

Of wings in the night,

Falling on prey,

Swift and sudden,

Unheard and unknown,

Then it is over.

Silence…is the sweet calm in the night,

The soft rocking of a chair,

And a newborn finally asleep.

~Kathie Adams Brown (August 14, 2011)

One Single Impression Prompt 181: Silence

Maybe it's the Moonlight

Maybe it's the moonlight that's keeping me awake,
here on this summer night with teenagers wandering the streets
and cats fighting in the yard.
I heard their caterwauling,
then a car goes by,
and I am sitting here
in the false glow of my computer screen
missing out on moonlight.

I think I'll take a break
and shut this computer down
so I can hear the soft plop of water droplets from the recent rain,
and see the silver light of the summer moon
as it slips down the velvet sky towards dawn.

~Kathie Adams Brown (7-15-11)

Water Music

I can hear the music
the steady lullaby
of water in the night
slipping through the dark,
sliding down the roof,
falling to the ground.
My soul is thirsty
for this refreshing song
of water music--
a rainstorm in the night.

~Kathie Adams Brown (May 19, 2011)

A Walk on a Rainy Autumn Night in New England

Wet leaves plastered to sleek shining pavement

Yellow light splashing a golden path

Moist-earthy-leaf smell wafting around me

While dark shadows dance in the nearby woods

I hear the steady hum of traffic out on the street

As I walk through the night

I keep following my feet.

~Kathie Adams Brown (October 27, 2010)

A Poem From my Hotel at Night

And the light on the trees at night is silver
when Orion sails through the sky,
while the tires of trucks hum on the highway
as the night is passing by,
and I in my hotel room am dreaming
of places I've yet to see,
in this little town next to the highway
with my love cuddled next to me.

~Kathie Adams Brown 9-16-10 @ 2:45 a.m. Methuen, MA

Floating Through the Night Sky

Floating
In the white light
Climbing the stars to heaven
Black velvet encompasses me
And I drift
Among the planets
I slide down the milkyway
And ride a comet through the sky
‘till I land on the crescent moon
And rock myself to sleep.
~Kathie Adams Brown (5-16-10)

OSI Prompt 117: Floating
 
(Poet's note: I know I am way behind and these poems are out of order. I am trying to get caught up and publishing whatever inspires me.)

OSI: The Harbinger of Night

Great Horned Owl photo by Kathie Adams Brown 8-8-08

In dusky light I walk

my dog tethered to me

the desert landscape spread before me

like a thorny blanket

when the hooting of an owl

calls to me from the canyon.

Below me in the twilight

with a half moon rising

on silent wings the dark bulk flies

up into desert skies

and lands on a Palo Verde tree

less than fifty feet from me

rotating its horned and feathered head

it locks amber eyes on my frozen form,

while the dog tugs impatiently on the leash.

I stand breathless and silent

with the desert chorus singing

their nighttime lullaby

--whit WHEET! the trasher,

--tink, tink, tink, the black-throated sparrow,

--squeak! squeak! squeak! the Gila woodpecker,

and while the cactus wren cackles and scolds from the cholla cactus,

The owl and I stare each other down

as minutes pass like desert gnats,

until the harbinger of night

lifts off on ponderous and silent wings

and flies away with my breath.

~Kathie Adams Brown (October 7, 2008)

One Single Impression Prompt 32: Serendipity