The Churches Stood

Oklahoma City National Memorial 3-19-10 (photo by Gusto!)

The churches stood in golden sunlight

on an ordinary day

and felt the force of anger

tear all those lives away

the steeples pierced the sky

to show the souls the way

to enter heaven's glory

while others had to stay

and weep 1000 tears

while others watched and prayed

for all the families hurt

by the violence of that day

A nation stood united

against that kind of hate

a memorial was built

to commemorate that date

when love was stronger than

the force of such despair

when people came together

to mark what happened there.


~kathie adams brown (6-27-04)

The chairs of the Oklahoma City National Memorial 3-19-10 by Gusto!

(Each chair represents a person who was killed in the bombing.)

The Thrush and I

American Robin at Cienega Creek Preserve 2-19-10

Photo by Kathiesbirds

Alone in the woodland the thrush and I
Seek refuge
We pause and listen
Waiting for sound
Waiting
To hear the earth move
Amidst white bones
And gold coins
Rattling
And crunching
We breathe one breath
We think
One thought:
Home.

~kathiesbirds (2-20-10)
OSI Prompt: Gold

Yeah, I Blew the Curve

But since we are reminiscing

And talking about blowing the curve

I can well remember the day I did

And the crash, the smash, the shattered glass

The unconsciousness of it all

The struggle to release myself

The struggle to be free

Before the car blew up

For that’s all I knew from the movies.

I was only just learning to drive

Had my learner’s permit

And the experienced driver sat near the door

And the other young man sat in-between

And fiddled with the radio and fought with me as I

turned the knobs, as I

turned the corner

as the licensed driver

reached across us both

and grabbed the wheel and

turned it!

Turned into a rock wall

That didn’t give an inch

And the other driver of the other car

A 70 year old man

Smashed!

 Into us

Smashed!

 into his windshield

Smashed!

His face.

We all stumbled out

Into silence. 

Dazed silence.

And then, sirens!

Wailing, screaming, and rushing in!

How I clung to the ambulance workers,

How I clung on for dear life!

The ambulance came and whisked me away

To intensive care

With my liver ruptured and bleeding. 

Yeah, I blew the curve,

but not without help

 and not without consequences

That linger.

~Kathie Adams Brown (2-1-10)

OSI Prompt: Blowing the curve

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

The Fragile Web

We are all connected,
I heard the ancients say
In a web of life
That trembles with each breath
A fragile state
For all of us
For if the web
Becomes undone
Then so shall all
Fall.

~Kathie Adams Brown (December 15, 2009)

One Single Impression: Spider's Web

In the Womb of the Word

Hyper-colored photo by Kathie Brown 11-5-09

In the womb it starts,
Blood pulsing, hear throbbing, bone forming,
Life!
Thoughts forming, song singing, mind boggling
Forces
Creating
Becoming
Believing
Sharp pains,
Struggling,
Rushing gushing
Bounding towards the light
Birthing out the beginning
Beginning at the end
Creative rush
Creative flush
Beginning once again.

~kathie adams brown 11-24-09

Under the Milky Way

Under the Milky Way I sit
A star bridge arching above me
Before me the flickering flames of a campfire
Smoke thoughts rising to the sky
And before the last ember fades,
Before the last flame has licked
The fragrant wood,
And crumbled into ash,
I capture this warmth inside me,
I capture the silent sky,
I swallow the universe in wonder,
And howl my contentment to the moon,
For I am a wild thing
On this starry, silent night.


~Kathie Adams Brown (11-8-09)

Prompt: reincarnation