Real magic is the time
and effort you put into
something.
The difference between a fable and a fairy tale is that in a fable you succeed by your own efforts. That is the essence of real magic.
thunderous speech showers from the sky
pattering the earth's surface
liquid sunshine seeps into the crusty dirt,
nourishing deep roots.
Showers of thunderous speech
oozing liquid sunshine
splattering the dirt
Sun captures glistening vapors
snapdragons retreat
pods of rebirth
Seeds are coming early this year. Hidden in Nature Pic by RLBrown
(WIP)
Hidden in Nature
Dangling treasure
for avid adventurers,
hidden in nature.
Dangling treasures
hidden in nature
for seekers to find......sought by
Tenacious trekkers
journey through a rarely seen
ribbon of time.
Wanderers capture
moments of discoveries
and lasting memories.
Capturing moments
of discoveries
and lasting memories.
The patterned pathways of
speckled sunlight guiding
avid adventurers.
As evening wanes
sunlight etches closer to
twilight's shade
Speckles of sunlight
Sunlight etches closer to twilight's shade
as the evening wanes.
emits pastel hue (cool Hue) Pastel hues color the evening sky.
long summer evenings
forest and child
refuse to sleep.
Fireflies hover
tealights glow
keeping darkness at bay
Cicadas sing
tree shadows creep.
Silence and night merge.
Yet little ones play in evening's twilight.
little ones frolic
on moonbeams silvery stream
till stillness comes.
Moonbeams
little ones frolic
under silvery moonbeams
till stillness comes
vanishing, tranformed by a moonbean ---stars shine, night receds behind the stars.
light infused into the night lighting a new path
till moonbeam
cast a sprkled light or an infused ligh
shadows and light play againtill the night hush comes
to pour a sleeping draft,
draws the sleepy eyes
darkness comes with a peacful rest.
Night's hush pours it sleeping draft
Life frolics on the moonbeam.
It plays till Night's hush
moves stillness in and
draws the sleepy eyes
shut, all rest.
{Plays till stillness comes.
The hush of night,
draws the sleepy eyes,
rest.
Yet in the darkness
life does not sleep
It frolic till Night's hush
moves in stillness,
all rest.]
Dayshadows shines Pattern Pathways
on twisted trails
of speckled sunlight
patterned pathways
of speckled sunlight
on twisted trails
designed for
rambling rovers,
giddy gadabouts,
avid adventurers,
dogged drifters,
and
tenacious trekkers.
fun to play with-
Tenacious trekkers travel twisted trails through time. time turns memories into laughter.
Twisted trails of speckled sunlight and patterned pathways traveled by avid adventurers, dogged drifters and tenacious trekkers.
Wintry winds
whistling a ceaseless
threnody
Haiku Music Challenge
1. sunlight etches closer
to twilight's shade,
evening wanes
2. long summer evenings
forest and child
refuse to sleep
Rhonda L Brown - USA
http://stardusthaiku.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html submission instructions
submission - Stardust - August
A friend and I above the clouds swinging free on a porch in Mountain View, AR. #haikusaturday I hope to visit one more time before she sells. pic.twitter.com/CMSuHM4BJ9
life's brief moments
full of beauty and splendor
raining
pink petals
we mourn
In memory of Robb Elementary school in Uvalde, Texas
tears of sadness flow
our hearts hurt
for the families, friends, and the community.
A Pastoral Cacophony (WIP)
Morning's first blush slips
through the mizzling mist,
dawn's chorus begins.
Antiphonal tweets
robins, warblers, blackbirds sing
dayspring's symphony.
The woodland world wakes.
Senryu is about human nature
Breathe the sunlit air,
uproot weeds watered by tears,
stir the soul, start new.
Rewritten as a Tanka- 31 syllables
Tears flow
deep within
watering roots of despair,
breathe the sunlit air-
uproot weeds
nurtured by tears,
stir the soul
to start anew.
Mountains of precipitous words echo constant reverberation.
Reach into the world of words to find perspicacity.
cool zephyr breeze
flows over tender grasses
goose pimples giggle.
hurricane prelude
whirlybirds in the wind
bliss ignorance
https://thehaikufoundation.org/per-diem-haiku-of-the-day-for-may-2022-early-childhood/#comment-141484
Photo by RL Brown, Gulfport, MS
Deep within my roots,
generational stories
intertwine.
Bifurcating branches
twist and wind upward,
etching life's wrinkles.
Her umbrella twirls
spreading crystalized sprinkles
everywhere #haikuseed (salt)
Hopscotch with seas shells and whirlybirds in the air, singing weeee and swinging high swing high, flying free, landing barfoot in the grass
Cousins taking turns Counting to one hundred hands in sync, switching without missing a beat the ice cream maker's hand-crank keeps churing.
Walking with cousins Playing with friends, hoping summer will never end.
No school, outside and free, it is time just to be me. Gliding on the porch swing, a bowl in my lap shelling peas with purple fingers- I prefer to snap green beans, please.
Straight from the garden, a summer snack. Chores done, potatoes stored in the shack. Childhood summers make me wish for more, tree climbing, river-side camping on a sandy shore and so much more.
*Zephyr* The Best Haiku 2025 international anthology. Zephyr @haikugenius.ai/adbeia8aa
Meat for Tea/ The Valley Review Volume 19 Issue 1 pg. 46
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 day-spring 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 Capella 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 Journal November 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.
Better Than Starbucks Poetry and Fiction Journal November 2022 Vol VII No IV
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 PublicationThe 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 PublicationThe 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.
For me, a Haiku is a 17-syllable verse that captures an image or moment that touches the heart when the reader grasps its meaning.
Some are still a work in progress.
The Haiku is a
seventeen syllable-verse,
understood by the heart.
Depicts a moment
in nature filled with simple
wonderment and awe.
Perspicacity
Reach into the world of words,
to find clear insight.
Slipping through morning dew, first blush hues cast,- dawn's chorus begins.
Antiphonal tweets robins, warblers, blackbirds sing day-spring's symphony.
The woodland world wakes.
January sky
Its sheer so clear, so blue.
Nothing leaves a mark.
On gradient winds,
matching a clarion call
Eagles hitch a ride.
Spring buds pop their heads,
February trickery-
Winter snaps, not yet!
Loam stirs, breaking free
Roots stretch in fertile earth
March howls for spring's warmth.
Sky looks down on earth
Eyes as dark as a new moon,
Winks in the spring night.
Loam stirs, breaking free
Roots stretch in fertile earth
March howls for spring's warmth.
Ode to Daffodils Bordering Mamaw’s cotton field Beside Mamma's fence To my backyard Daffodils. Posted on February 25, 2022 by Posted in #HaikuSeed Daily Haiku Prompt
Longing for a sidewalk stroll
along the storefronts of a –
five-and-dime
boutique
coffee house
with friends
. . .mask less.
Winter folds a tree- into a counterfeit death – Gray, bony, lifeless.
Cold, still, frosty white
Frozen precipitation
The glistening sun
Icicle droplets
Drip amid a frozen field
Robins drink mid-stream.
Kindness ripples when
interjected precisely
and rips through meanness.
kindness ripples and rips through meanness.
Tempean ox-eye titivated petals sway as butterflies dance
Hidden Object
The only reason
I've never been snake-bitten;
I pound when I walk.
The object I seek
is blatantly obvious.
but it's not a snake.
A trim crimson comb
Proud strut, surefooted, perched high.
First to greet the day.
Calls the world to wake.
Rises with the morning sun.
Cock-a-doddle-do
Prayer is your weapon. Like the soil loves the tree and gives life to the tree so does prayer nourish your soul. Prayer cradles life whether answered here or there (heaven).
Death's grim triumph of the fallen thirteen, betrayed, left behind. Our soldiers' demise at the hands of a few won't be forgotten.
The Afghan Thirteen The pulse is weak, life's last vapor vanishes. Death grins when breathing ceased.
Thanatos’ grim triumph- of the Afghan thirteen, fallen, betrayed from within, and left behind.
A country's demise at the hands of a few. America's heart bleeds. They will not be forgotten.
Hope hurts. Hope heals! Hope shatters the grip of hate- the past and present repeat. 1776 to Aug. 26, 2021.
In memory of the thirteen men and women who died in service of our country and who fought to defend the freedom loving Afghan people.
Sgt. Johnny Rosario Pichardo, 25, of Lawrence, Massachusetts, assigned to 5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Naval Support Activity Bahrain.
Sgt. Nicole L. Gee, 23, of Sacramento, California, assigned to Combat Logistics Battalion 24, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover, 31, of Salt Lake City, Utah. His military occupational specialty was 0369, infantry unit leader. Cpl. Hunter Lopez, 22, of Indio, California, a rifleman, decorated marine.
Cpl. Daegan W. Page, 23, of Omaha, Nebraska, a rifleman, decorated marine.
Cpl. Humberto A. Sanchez, 22, of Logansport, Indiana, a rifleman, decorated marine.
Lance Cpl. David L. Espinoza, 20, of Rio Bravo, Texas, a rifleman, decorated marine.
Lance Cpl. Jared M. Schmitz, 20, of St. Charles, Missouri, a rifleman, decorated marine.
Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum, 20, of Jackson, Wyoming, a rifleman, decorated marine.
Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola, 20, of Rancho Cucamonga, California, a rifleman, decorated marine.
Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui, 20, of Norco, California, decorated marine.
Navy Corpsman Maxton W. Soviak, 22, of Berlin Heights, Ohio, assigned to 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton, California, decorated Navy Corpsman.
Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss, 23, of Corryton, Tennessee. Knauss was assigned to 9th PSYOP Battalion, 8th PSYOP Group, Ft. Bragg, North Carolina.
Short Version: The Afghan Thirteen by RL Brown
Death's grim triumph-of the fallen thirteen, betrayed, left behind. Our soldiers' demise at the hands of a few won't be forgotten.
A Call to Arms: Desperate times call for desperate measures. Arms yours self with the Gospel; it is time to fight. How? Prayer and fasting is the key to winning this fight. Find your prayer closet, your church pew, and get on your knees.
2 Chronicles 7:14: If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
A Call to Arms: Desperate times call for desperate measures. Arms yours self with the Gospel; it is time to fight. How? Prayer and fasting is the key to winning this fight. Find your prayer closet, your church pew, and get on your knees.
Have you ever been on a drive and then had a flat?
Writing picture books seems like that afternoon drive on the Natchez Trace. Car windows down, tree limbs hanging over the payment, casting shadows with intermittent sunlight, driving down the road, chatting and laughing with your best friend without any worries.
Road down the Natchez Trace Parkway in fall
Boom! Screech, and you wheel off to the side of the road. FLAT Tire!
Sometimes, your best dreams get flattened, goals you have struggled with go awry, and you get another rejection letter. What do you do? You fix the flat, sometimes with help from a critique group, talking to a friend, and listening to the positives more intently. Discover what is good about your dreams and hold on for the ride. Achieving your dreams is hard work. Drive and perseverance go hand in hand. Then, work on your dream, fix the flat(s) in your stories, and resume your drive down the Natchez Trace. Happy Writing!
Sometimes you have to persuade yourself to keep moving forward and the best way is to rely on the Holy Spirit for guidance that comes when you get still and listen. Being sidelined has it purpose. When God sends that next person along, listen, anticipate a word from the Holy Spirit and be ready to move on.
Today’s picture book market is very different from when I was a child. The book market is more selective. There exits an underlying pc culture. Very few publishers like in the past take direct submissions from new authors. So now you have written a children’s book, but does it cut the mustard (meet current standards)?
The first step is to compare your book to what’s currently written. Go to your library and read. Read in your genre, then read books out of your genre. But read current books. Water is Water by Miranda Paul is a perfect example of a nonfiction narrative that varies vastly from the expository/factual nature of picture books in the past. Books like I Talk Like a River explore the world of a stutter and address personal issues that kids face beyond friendship or bullying. So, read and find your mentor texts.
The second step is to know your craft before sending the query letter. Editors and agents get so many manuscripts that if they are not near perfect, they toss them. It’s like a resume filled with grammatical errors or false information. Research your agent, editor, or publishers. Make sure they are open to submissions in your genre.
The third step is to use the tools at hand. Microsoft Word has a review function that reads your work out loud. Use Grammarly or one such program to edited your work. Don’t pay someone like I did to take the extra space from behind the period when you can do it yourself. Crtl A copies, and Crtl H brings up a dialog box to make edits all at once.
Lastly, participate in a good critique group. Not an online, never see your face type but a Zoom group. It makes people accountable for what they say and why. A picture book must allow the reader to see for themselves what you are trying to say, not telling them what you think. For young readers, you are helping to develop their imagination. A mind free to think will imagine, reason, and then decide to act. (My synopsis line from a CS Lewis study with Hillsdale college.)
I will end by saying I had made every newbie mistake in the book by sending my manuscript out before it was ready. Take your time, learn the process, research, get your work ready, then submit.
Stupid is now an offensive word, but impugn, denigrate, or besmirch a political opponent with expletives, and they praise you for your lack of articulate skills. When stirred by hate-filled rhetoric, acrimony becomes a course for action by parroting the hegemony media. The ensuing incompetence best describes those so full of discord that they seethe and bathe in malice until reasonable or contemplated thought perishes. The result is not free speech but a distilled compilation of whiny, immature thinkers who do not possess an original opinion. (Yes, this is a negative first paragraph).
Critical thinking is essential to free speech, and losing the ability to form an opinion based on facts is the loss of free speech. Our Founding Fathers truly understood the concept of freedom of speech. It comes with a depth of knowledge and personal responsibility to ponder your words, weigh them, and speak for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Equality doesn’t mean equal, nor does it mean taking what others have earned. The pursuit of happiness does not mean life is fair. It isn’t. My point is to step over or away from those people and pursue your dream(s). Freedom means the right to be responsible for yourself, your words, and your actions. Know and understand what freedom of speech means, learn your history, and grasp the value of the Electoral College for the individual voter. Discover the truth, weigh your words, and then speak.
meaningless deceptions by the hegemony media parroting the same song
redundant talking points nailed to your brain dulls the mind--
Leaves one screaming, "You can't handle the TRUTH." Yet, truth is easier to swallow than a quagmire of lies.
Haiku: Winter folds a tree- into a counterfeit death – Gray, bony, lifeless.
Photo by R Bronte Brown, Petite Jean Mtn
Sitting on the back porch swing, high in the Ozark Mountains, I feel the last remnants of the cool morning breeze wafting in. The deciduous trees that blanket the rolling hills vibrate with vibrant colors. White clouds hang in the pale blue sky, hinting at rain in their underbelly. Tree limbs sway gently in the wind, and leaves rustle momentarily before falling silent.
A red-headed woodpecker glides past, wings outstretched as it easily navigates the air currents. With slight turns among the branches, it soon disappears from view. Birds sing their early morning melodies, hidden from sight. From the clouds above, shaded areas dot the mountainside, providing a cool retreat from the day’s heat. As nature dances in the wind, life thrives in the warmth of the sunlight.
Yet, amidst this bountiful backdrop of life stands a stark contrast: a giant dead stick, gray, bony, and lifeless. Its haggard branches extend outward, out of place, and exposed. This lifeless form yearns for the dead of winter, embodying a facade of counterfeit death.
A Christian should not wish for a counterfeit life to hide behind when there is so much more to life. Discernment’s gift removes the hindrances by digging deep roots, growing in knowledge and understanding, and letting gratitude overflow.
An unencumbered mind can think clearly, look beyond the present moment, grasp reality, and recognize the pitfalls of empty philosophies. However, for this to happen, your mind must be clear and focused, looking beyond instant gratification to identify real dangers. Reason sharpens the mind; imagination allows you to see beyond what you know to distinguish subtle traps that may ensnare.
Freedom is the ability to think and imagine beyond yourself and act with forethought.
Jeremiah 17: 7-9 Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is in the Lord. He will be like a tree planted by the water that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; but its leaves will be green. And will not be anxious in a year of drought, nor cease to yield fruit. The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; Who can understand it? I, the Lord, search the heart and I test the mind…
brontebrown2 
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