January Poems

Photo by RL Brown, Gulf Port, MS
color of the sky
a change upon the wind
longing to be free
sky colors ripple
a unique aerial view
coming 
    down 
        down
            down
slow, slow, quick-quick, slow
light dances on the water
footprints in the sand
Photo by RL Brown, Gulf Port, MS
WIP
If rain no longer fell, would tears cease to flow?
If blue dropped from the sky, would a smile return?
If darkness engulfs the world, would light find its way?
If longing is understood, would yearning fade?
If sadness disappeared would you be free?

Your faith can be likened to a train with an engine and a caboose. Putting your energy/belief in God and His Word is like putting your energy/ fuel (the coal) into the train engine, and it moves forward. If you place your energy (the coal) into the caboose, your feelings, the train doesn't move. Feelings wobble, constantly change, hurl you forward or hold you back. Emotions should not take the lead; they can spiral you out of control if you weigh yourself with them. We have free will by which we balance head and heart and live. by RLBrown
shadows hide, lurking beneath (the fog)
Light invades, droplets dissipate, shadows revealed. 
living life in a fog, drifting desparately
a seasonal leaf
grounding roots
friends are the rings inside

January submission The Monthy Kakai-(Gratitude) by RL Brown
A  clarion call on gradient winds, eagles hitch a ride. (January sky) #poetry, #haiku, 
snow falling lightly
moonbeams prance  (glisten)
nestled deep, all sleep
Like a river, creativity flows, bends, hits a dam, spills over, finds another way, is a mist, and gets lost in a fog but is ever moving forward to new horizons. 
autumn falls silent under the evening snow
Photo by RL Brown
Jungle Gym on steroids
Welcome, all humanoids
Imagination
Play Station
Parallel universe- TRAPezoids. #LimerickSunday #LimerickRhyme
Outside play station in Korea

December Poems / Troubadour/Solstice

WIP 

The night star shines
through the night
illumatinating the way


a single voice announces,
the king's arrival,

to live among us.

Christmas morning rings
as the morning light hums,
as a new song begins.

The Troubadour sings
illuminating darkness,
dispelling fear.






Echoes of joy ring
The songless world yearns to hear.
The troubadour’s song.

Morning's light hums
through hate and despair as hope
sings a new redemptive song.
Nature’s beauty shines
from the eyes of the beholder
beware of black bears
Solstice 
scintillating rays
stretch summer's boundaries
nightide catenates

summer solstice June 21, 2022

on a morrowless day
nighttide meets at winter's gate
light concatenates

#haiku #HaikuSaturday #haikuseed

winter solstice
Dec 21, 2022

6 facts about the winter solstice

The magic moment. While many focus on the winter solstice as a day in the calendar, what we are actually talking about is a very specific moment which is over almost as soon as it has begun. ...

The Sun stands still. ...
Winter begins. ...
Nine hours darker. ...
The earliest sunset. ...

8 fascinating facts about the summer solstice

It arrives like clockwork. ...
Time stands still. ...
It's not the earliest sunrise of the year. ...
It's been observed throughout human history. ...
Flooding the Nile. ...
Greek feasts. ...
Ancient Roman celebration of home and hearth. ...
It's still celebrated around the world today.
March/ September Spring Equinox
March Equinox

Terrestrial tides collide
rising high, but twice a year.
sun and moon poised.

A morrowless day
arriving on the equinox
perfectly balanced.

January sky
Its sheer so clear, so blue.
Nothing leaves a mark.

Wintry sky
shear blue bright and clear
cirrus trails
Shear Cirrus trails in the clear, wintry blue sky.
Emotional world
Spinning round the sun leaving
Unanswered questions.
#HaikuSaturday by martha vandivier
@Vandiviergrade3
My Reply:

In between twilight
answers lie within us
for finding the Truth.
#HaikuSaturday by RL Brown

November 2022 Haikus and more

Snow in Arkansas
Ump, get real, it's Arkansas
Snowing in Arkansas
 #HaikuSaturday 
We have a saying in AR, if you don't like the weather, wait a day!
5:59 PM · Nov 12, 2022
·Twitter Web App
wispy sheers, whispering change, forth-telling

whiptail: journal of the single-line poem
@whiptailjournal

Cirrus clouds are thin, feathery, and wispy. They often portend rain in the coming days. Write a monoku using cirrus clouds.
#haiku #monoku #whiptailjournal https://pic.twitter.com/3SXZEo5mMA

Replying to @whiptailjournal
whiptail: journal of the single-line poem
@whiptailjournal

speckled sunlight of pattern pathways 

Share a monoku you wrote and the story behind it.
The story behind this: I was reading Richard Peck this summer, inspired by his writing. 
for whiptail journal
Monday is about: Magic of Invisible friends

Nov 21
Replying to 
@jerroldconnors
I never had an invisible childhood friend, but that would be my favorite.
I wouldn't care for gremlins since they work for Murphy's Law.

Nov 22 Friendship 
Replying to 
@JThomasABC
Like a leaf that is brief-lasting a season,
branches that hang around for a while,
or the roots that keep you grounded, 
friends are the rings inside you. #InvisibleThings

Nov 23 Creativity
Like a river, creativity flows, bends, hits a dam, spills over, finds another way, is a mist, and gets lost in a fog but is ever moving forward to new horizons. 
@lozzawriting
 
Invisible Things/Creativity 


Nov 24: Joy
Grandbabies create
a rite of passage for
parents to become 
Grand! 
@AndrewsSusanM

Passing the responsibility of raising a child to your child and watching them guide, struggle, seek your help and advice, and getting to love and trust them to do their best is pure joy.


Nove 25
Hope hurts! 
Hurtful words dash across the heart. Dreams unrealized lie in waste. Lost in the darkness, we cry.
Hope lies beyond our regrets and missed opportunities. Hope restores the heart and clears the way for renewed dreams. 
Hope heals!
#InvisibleThings  
@jerroldconnors
5:30 PM · Nov 25, 2022



Trouvaille Review, February 15, 2022 Publication
excerpt: 
Winter winds whistling
Indian Summer's last stance
Bowing gracefully
 
Winter’s dignity
Lifeless trees' quiet strength
Autumn seeds nestled deep-

Sheltered.  #haikusaturday 

Originally written separately, then one poem.

Compromise

I’m in South Korea caring for my new grandbaby, my son, Daniel, and his wife, Serah. Jian or John (American version) is their firstborn. He was two weeks early, but he is healthy and just about over colic. Neither of mine two had colic. Broke my heart to see him cry so hard, especially when he looked at me with tears running down his cheek.

It is my turn to be up with the little one. He is sleeping, and I’m awake, so I read a few of your uplifting posts.

memories lay curled 
tumbled, dark rumble 
inner balance skewed
   
truth is a plumbline 
that does not vary 
or does it compromise.

God's Word does not compromise Truth. It is our plumbline, our standard, our foundation to live by. God cannot lie. Therefore, our foundation is solid as a rock. (Amos and Hebrews)

October Rhymes, Poems, and more/Hallo’s Eve

Hallo's Eve comes once a year
certain creatures reappear.

Pumpkin faces scare the dead,
filling ghouls full of dread.

Jack-o-Lantern fools the gnome,
we're disguised and free to roam. 

House to house we seek sweet treats
pumpkin lights line the street.

Fading fast and hard to see
spirits hiding in the tree.

one, two, three, four
"EEK," and away they soar.

Pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin face
side by side we'll win this race.

Round the corner, house insight,
dare we run with all our might.

Safe inside we dance with glee
Jack-o-Lantern smiles at me. 

Hallo's Eve comes once a year
certain creatures reappear.

Pumpkin faces scare the dead,
filling ghouls full of dread.

Jack-o-Lantern fools the gnome,
we're disguised and free to roam. 

House to house we seek sweet treats,
pumpkin lights line the street.

Fading fast and hard to see
spirits hiding in the tree.

one, two, three, four
"EEK," and away they soar.

Pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin face
side by side we'll win this race.

Round the corner, house insight,
dare we run with all our might.

Safe inside we dance with glee.
Jack-o-Lantern smiles at me.
Commercial free image

A HALLOWEEN LIMERICK 

A HALLOWEEN LIMERICK

Jasper, the ghost, refuses to float.
Over water, his stomach would bloat.
Nightshades took pity-
Takes him to the city.
Cruising across the moat by boat.

Vincent roams the skies by night,
foraging for flower nectar to bite.
The flowers all hid,
afraid of this kid.
Vanishing by morning’s light..

Nettie, the spider, tosses silk threads.
The wind carries her over the farmstead.
Free to roam,
for a new home.
Spinning her web by the woodshed.

Pumpkin Pete sits in a patch, grim.
He wishes for a face that would grin.
Along came a farmer,
who's a great carver!
Beaming at guests entering the inn.

Shelton Bones travels by scooter
never honking the horn tooter
Ghosts cry yoohoo,
bats screech boohoo.
Skidding downhill, he runs over Rooster.

Luna wishes to fly by moonlight
seeks a moonbeam to steady her flight.
sleight hullabaloo
incoming cockatoo
Tail-spinning, Luna flies till midnight.


WIP

Fading fast and hard to see
spirits hiding in the tree.

one to four
watch them soar
Oh no! It's time to flee.


The old scarecrow frightens Jeanie
because she is such teeny weenie.

tiny in size,
hides from prying eyes,
and eats her fill of zucchini.



oh me oh my, crazy cross eye witch.
Shimmering rays steady her flight,
Winnie yearns to fly by moonlight.
Moonbeams are ready. One cross eye, she's willing to try
She carries her teddy.
Together, they frolic and play till midnight. she frolics and plays past midnight


The great horn owl

a dinner of mice
is a quite nice
hootie hoot hoot,
what a coot
The Last Harvest
By RL 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!
The migratory birds last song.
Light wanes for evening.

Nature's splendor yields
a harvest of abundance,
Thankfulness expressed.

Inner autumn calls,
time to embrace season’s change.
The wind howls for rest.

Light narrows yet shines.
Truth displayed for all to see,
God’s bountiful grace.

Counterfeit death nears.
The last harvest, winter comes.
Weary souls find rest.
October Haiku
little ones frolic
under silvery moonbeams 
till stillness comes

a sparkled light cast
night recedes behind the stars
tomorrow sleeps
---
a shimmering dance
a seasonal rain
blurred lines of change

Kathy Halsey
@infowoman1
·
Oct 9
Replying to 
@RhondaLBrown2
"Blurred lines of change", the consonance, the rhyme, make this divine.
a single-cosmos
harmonious symmetry
its own star system
#haiku
#HaikuSaturday
Photo by RL Brown, a single flower from a field of cosmos in South Korea
The Korean Folk Village

weeping willows
water lanterns 
twilight shift

Root

Being rooted means having a firm foundation. The sower and seed parable gives four types of foundations. The good soil represents God’s Word. The problem with man is understanding the truth. Truth is pounded by empty philosophy, choked out by the trials of life, or consumed by doubt and confusion.

Vallotton Annie Vallotton drawings _Good news bible Collins Fontana 1976 British and foreign bible societies 146 Queen Victoria Street London

Being rooted in Truth is not as easy as it sounds. We have the Bible, read it, and apply it, and yet, our ears are tickled by empty words, and we are led astray.

Last week, I heard a pastor explain Genesis very differently from the way I was taught. God’s edict to Adam and Eve was not prescriptive as in a condemnation punishment. Instead, it was descriptive. God was describing the consequences of their action and what was about to happen in the world. The natural order of peace was ripped apart, and man was now at odds with nature.

God is revealing the mysteries of the end times, of the secrets of His Word, in a way that offers clarity to everyday life and freedom in our spirit to walk with Him.

memories lay curled
tumbled, dark rumble
inner balance skewed 

truth is a plumbline
It does not vary
or shapeshift. 

There is one Truth by which all mankind can survive. Anything else is sinking sand, gets twisted, blown away or lost in the heart of man. 

August Haikus

Morning's blush
slips through the
mizzling mist. 
Haiku Pond/Water Published @Haiku Pond 
morning visitor,
elegant, sleek, dressed in black
but you can't come in
#HaikuSaturday 
I walked in and out several times before I noticed.

Wintry winds
whistling ceaseless
threnodies
(Theme: wind) Haiku Pond submission, Aug 18, 2022

Morning's blush
slips through the
mizzling mist. 
Haiku Pond/Water Published @Haiku Pond 

other ideas for water


tiny rainbows shimmer in the sunlight through the mizzling mist

frosty white
glistening icicles
drip
Haiku Pond/Water

troubled matrix,
stain dewdrops of torment 
or dewdrops of troubled matrix

Sinkholes, shifting sand, 
watchful eyes staring
at a changing basin.

Shrouded storms, titans clash. 
long summer evenings
where forest and child
refuse to sleep
brontebrown2
@RhondaLBrown2
·
Jul 30
thunderous speech showers from the sky
pattering the earth's surface
liquid sunshine seeps into the crusty dirt, 
nourishing deep roots. 
a realized dream
worked for
contains real magic
 #HaikuSaturday
the essence of magic
a realized dream
worked for
free clipart/internet

September Haikus and more

The first Nissan
hopes for peace lie within
the crescent moon
On moonbeams, life frolics till night's hush moves stillness in and draws the sleepy eyes shut, all rest. 

Life frolics on the moonbeam
and plays till night's hush
moves stillness in -
drawing the sleepy eyes shut, 
all rest. RL Brown

jet lag, sleep comes when-
western time, eastern time
neither, baby time 
memories lay curled 
tumbled, dark rumble 
inner balance skewed   
truth is a plumbline 
that does not vary 
or shapeshift.
God's Word does not compromise Truth. It is our plumbline, our standard, our foundation to live by. God cannot lie. Therefore, our foundation is solid as a rock. (Amos and Hebrews)
Bright sherbet colors
familiar and strange
in a foreign land. #HaikuSaturday
annyeonghaseyo from South Korea
Yard mowed, edges trimmed-ha
It's raining, it's pouring-

The grass will grow back 
by morning- 

Show

A lesson in kindness/ ideas for teachers and counselors

With school in session, teachers in addition to the daily curriculum begin the year with a focus on kindness to establish boundaries for behavior.

Kindness ripples as it cuts through meanness.

‘Each little thing we do goes out into the world touching more and more people. Each thing we do can be kind, mean, or just a missed opportunity. The one certainty is that kindness can rip through meanness.  Kindness interjected at any moment diminishes the ripple of negativity.’ R. L. Brown

As a counselor, I used two books to compare kindness: Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson and Ordinary Mary’s Extraordinary Deeds by Emily Pearson

Every act of KINDNESS creates a ripple.

What will you do to start a ripple of kindness in your classroom, at home, or among your peers?

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Kindness-Ripples-Forward-4365997

Other Books:
The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig
Kindness is Cool Mrs. Ruler by Margery Cuyler
How Full is Your Bucket? By Tom Rath and Mary Reckmeyer

FMF: View

Nothing new under the sun, not so-
Every day there is something new-
life!
My son with his son 
My daughter (in-law) with her son. 
Love growing by leaps and bounds. 

Long before God established the church (not worship), He established the family. The family is the basic unit of our society. Security, warmth, and safety are tied up in a bundle(s) of love.