Before the White-winged Dove Returns

White-winged Dove in my Tucson yard 4-13-2013

I will be gone before the White-winged Dove returns

Before the monsoon rains scent the desert air again;

I will not be here to see the lesser nighthawks slice through the twilight

Or hear the twittering chatter of purple martins in flight.

I will not see the cactus bloom this year,

painting the desert in a riot of color in spring

as Palo Verdes burst with yellow blossoms along tree lined streets.

There is no way to convey this desert landscape.

You must be here to smell the fragrance of creosote after the rains;

You have to stand on your patio on a moonlit night and feel the desert wind caress your legs

While the coyote chorus sings down the canyon and calls up the moon.

You must be here to hear the Cactus Wrens cackle on a hot summer’s day,

Or hear the Rock Wrens trill from the mountain slopes.

I will not be here when the white-winged dove returns to perch on saguaro blossoms,

But, I will know they are here.

I have seen them before and I will know they are here again—desert birds in a desert landscape

Rich with life and memories of things seen and done and still to be done

When the white-winged dove returns.

~kathie adams brown (January 28, 2014)

A Bright Beginning

In the morning light the feathered gem

hovers in the sparkles of the irrigation rain

bejeweled and bedazzled by sunlight and water

green feathers gathering light and reflecting it

back in a spray of color

and morning magic,

while I walk the dog in the neighborhood park—

a bright beginning to my day.

~kathie adams brown (January 28, 2014)

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)

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)

November Days

These are November Days,

Gray skies, unsettled weather, unsettled memories.

November skies are filled with longing,

longing for another place,

for the lost past,

for families and for love.

I feel that longing like a skein of wild geese honking out their cries

as they wing across the skies.

I feel that restlessness

Inside

and wonder where my wings are

and why I cannot fly.

The memories of passing years float up like clouds from the deep,

and I remember laughter, and a warm kitchen and standing with my Nana

While she stirred white pepper into smooth brown gravy in her farm kitchen

at Thanksgiving Time.

November days are wild days of longing and families and love.

~kathie adams brown (November 27, 2013)

Sometimes Solitude is Bliss

Photo courtesy of Chris Rohrer

I like people...sometimes.

I like to have a friendly chat, to walk in quiet companionship through the woods,

To laugh about a funny movie with a friend,

To bemoan the worries of the world over coffee or tea.

I love to share the things I love with my friends, but sometimes, solitude is bliss!

There are no demands when I am alone,

No right answers I have to think of,

No need to be clever or cute or witty.

I can just be me and think my own thoughts

And smile at what makes me happy

Or dance in my heart.

There is no one to criticize or summarize or scrutinize or any other “-ize” me.

I can just be.

~kathie adams brown (October 17, 2013)