Fairytale Fishin’

No buckets, no boats, 
And no carrying large totes,
Just Grandpa and me. 

A pole in each hand
Grasshoppers by the pond bank.
Gramps catches our bait.

A nibble, a tug.
Feel the line, ignore the bug-
Wait-then jerk the hook-

A flip-flopping, splash, 
reeling in a big fat bass

(Excerpt from a Kid’s Tale 
by RL Brown)

Congratulations! Your poem "Fairytale Fishin'"was selected to be a part of the 2022/23 Conway Public Poetry Project installations. 

In the coming months, we will be working with the City of Conway to install these poems in various locations around the community.

We are also working on a booklet that will contain the poems, their locations, and information about each poet

Sponsored by Blackbird Art Collective, Conway AR

A Pastoral Cacophony

As morning’s first blush slips through the mizzling mist, dawn’s chorus begins. The woodland world wakes, nestlings fluff their feathers, squish together and listen to their twitter song.

Blackbirds sing a low mellow tone blending choral notes to a dayspring chant. Red-breasted robins' antiphonal tweets twitter back and forth. A cool zephyr breezes through the budding trees, and a hermit thrush adds a rhythmic woodwind harmony.

Chee-pippety-chee-chee, Jenny wren joins in with a light peppy lilt, stepping up the beat. Colorful warblers echo a descant as tiny rainbows shimmer in twilight’s dew. A cappella chorus in one voice sings a spring aria.


A blue jay’s catcall
signals a tail twitching taunt,
kitty in the weeds.

My inspiration for this poem came one spring morning while listening to bird songs at dawn's light. The slow build of antiphonal tweets and the sudden end, orchestrated by my cat reminded me of Bolero by Ravel. 

Better Than Starbucks
Poetry and Fiction JournalNovember 2022
Vol VII No IV

Rhonda Bronte Brown is a retired counselor/teacher who lives in Arkansas. She was published in Better Than Starbucks, the Trouvaille Review, and Haiku Seed Journal in February and March 2022. She also writes children’s books. Find her online at https://brontebrown2.com.

Haiku: by R Bronte Brown 
Winter folds a tree-  
into a counterfeit death 
gray, boney, lifeless. 
Better than Starbucks, February 2022 Publication p. 41 

Editor's comment: Stark, powerful and tied to the four seasons.

Haiku Seed Journal @HaikuSeed_ Featuring these wonderful #haiku for the #HaikuSeed "winter"  

spring buds pop their heads, 
february trickery, 
winter snaps, not yet! 

#HaikuSeed / 24 Feb, 2022 winter   

All I can think of is an adult snapping at their children who were sneakily playing video games under their blankets instead of sleeping. Loved the playfulness of the writer and the haiku, there is a wholesome nature to it that brings out a smile.
— Sankara Jayanth
Editor, Haiku Seed Journal
@coffeeandhaiku

Trouvaille Review, February 15, 2022 Publication

The Dignity of Winter by R Bronte Brown 

Wind rustles the leaves. 
Trees shimmer yawning deeply, 
Anticipation.
 
Autumn equinox,
the balance of light and dark,
time juncture converts. 
 
Turn your face eastward.
Fall moon on the horizon
blazing golden hues.
 
Extravagant colors!
A migratory bird's last song.
Light wanes for evening.
 
Winter grants Fall's wish
for an encore flower dance,
frost procrastinates.
 
Nature splendor yields 
a harvest of abundance, 
Thankfulness expressed. 
 
Inner autumn calls,
time to embrace season’s change.
The wind howls for rest.
 
Winter winds whistling
Indian Summer's last stance
Bowing gracefully
 
Winter’s dignity
Lifeless trees quiet strength
Autumn seeds nestled deep-

Sheltered. 

From Bronte Brown:
morning’s blush
slips through
the mizzling mist


The Haiku Pond 🍃
@TheHaikuPond

Aug 13,2022
You can listen on your favorite podcast app or here: http://anthonynanfito.com/2022/08/14/a-waterfalls-purpose/

Trouvaille Review, March 23, 2022 Publication

The Hummingbird
Swiftest things that run the world,
Hums and beats, their wings unfurled.
Hummingbirds need constant fuel.
Brilliant blooms attract this jewel.
Forward, backward, upside down.
These dashing fliers zip around.
 
Golden flowers brilliant blooms
Entice birds with shiny plumes.
Blazing Star to Geranium,
Coral Bells to Delphinium.
Flower meadows, patchwork plots,
Scattered seeds in local lots.