Category Archives: Poems and Rhymes

January Kindness Month
Kind words are like honey, sweet to the soul and healthy for the body. Proverbs 16:24 Kindness towards someone else, helps them feel seen, appreciated, and valued.

Kindness is like a ripple. 
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. 

Every act of KINDNESS creates a ripple. 
Each little thing we do goes out into the world touching more and more people. 
What will you do to start a ripple of kindness today?

He hath showed thee, O man, what is good;
and what doth the Lord require of thee,
but to do justly, and to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with thy God? Micah 6:8

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

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Your-Words-Matter-A-Lesson-in-Kindness-6402983

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Manners-Matter-even-to-Rude-Cakes-3621750

Others books:
Mixed by Arree Chung
I Talk Like a River by Jordan Scott
I intend to develop lesson plans for these two, but I can't keep the books long enough to do so--good books never get returned. 
The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig (lessons on TpT)
Eyes that Kiss in the Corner by Joanna Ho
One by Kathryn Otoshi

All poems are by RL Brown and cannot be published without permission.

Wintry winds
whistling ceaseless
threnodies

Vermillion cardinal
resplendent and showy
pulchritudinous

It was not an easy door to open
 my creativity-
a vain impression of my imagination,
 real or not, I see. #FromOneLine 

Piquancy of passion
wrapped in zeal
radiates earnestly
Owl Nest zeal, zone, zest

Psalm 34:18
The Lord is always near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
My pastor preached on Philippines 4. Rejoice always, and in everything by prayer, and supplication with thanksgiving, let your heart (request) be made known to God. God knows your heart but do we? Paul was able to face persecution because Paul knew his own heart and the heart of God

God established Time
Knowing God-
Time is a fixed entity that is set for a season and is always moving forward. God cannot undo time. God's purposes are unchangeable and set for a season of salvation as a test to man's free will. (Hebrews 6:17-18) There is no variation or shifting of shadows for God's unchangeable plan. All things being possible for God ( Phil 4:13, Matt 19:26) is predicated on a few impossibilities concerning His nature. God cannot lie and therefore He is the plumb-line for the truth to be measured. God exists outside of time. He is the Alpha and Omega. Imagine God holding the ribbon of time, the beginning in one hand to the end in the other. He surveys all of time, simultaneously. 

(NOTE: Moses convinced God not to destroy Israel for their unbelief and events were change when David prayed and ask God what would happen if he remained in the city. So David left and Saul did not attack.)

The Power of God's Word

We have entered an age where everyone is right in their own eyes. Each version is at odds with the other. God's Word is the plumb line by which all truth is measured. A plumb line is a weight suspended from a string used as a vertical reference line to ensure a structure is centered. God cannot lie; it is impossible for him to do so; therein lies the power of His Word. 

Hebrews 4:12, For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.

Psalm 119:105,  Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.

God loves your soul like the soil loves the tree. 
God's Word is the soil where we firmly root our faith. 
The soil gives the tree all the space it needs to grow. 
God's will is His Word. 
It is not a roadmap but a relationship. 
God is more interested in what you become than what you do. 
Colossians 1:9. 
Having received Christ Jesus as Lord, you are: 
     firmly rooted, 
     grounded, 
     built up in Him, and 
     overflowing with gratitude- 
     one faith, one hope, one Lord. 
Comfort comes by knowing that you are firmly rooted. 
Love your God-given soul like the soil loves the tree. 

Jabbering gibberish,
over the tongue,
slipping, tripping, skipping. 
Seamless syllables 
of streaming sound,
the words whisper- don’t give up.
or
Short version:
streaming sounds whisper,
don't give up. 

first snow
falling softly
warm thoughts

Still, cold,
 frozen white
 icicle glistening.

 Droplets drip
 amid a frozen field, 
nature's water fountain

Vivacious verve
Distinctively brilliant 
Swoon-worthy
vivid, verve, valued-Dimash

Piquancy of passion
wrapped in zeal
radiates earnestly
zeal, zest, zone 

not forget, less it be repeated

hide your love in my heart
hide in love my heart
hide in your love my heart

whiptail journal challenge

Costal charmers adorned in titivated lace
Memories of a lissome dance
Gene transfer evolution, clueless aftermath
a buccolic field jaded by time
Iridescent threads woven in the heart. 
If rain no longer fell, would tears cease to flow?
If longing is understood, would yearing fade?

wonder, whisper, whim.

wondering aimlessly
a nefarious wind
sent with ill-content. 

whispers of inspiration, 
a notion under wonderment- writing again.  

Practical application from Arree in a haiku format. Or the last line might say: write it down

#HaikuSaturday #Haiku #amwriting 
A whisper of inspiration,
a notion under wonderment-
I'm writing again.  
@Bleu_Owl wonder, whisper, whim.

whispers of inspiration
a notion under wonderment
writing again. 

inspiration whispers
a notion under wonderment,
writing again

inspiration
wonderment
writing

On gradient winds,
matching a clarion call
Eagles hitch a ride.    

words packaged
neat and tidy
a haiku

Packaged neat and tidy,
a haiku

Pacing a playful beat by tapping your feet 
or Tappin' your feet to a playful beat
 (drums, cymbals, chimes, tambourines)
 Razzmatazz of New Orlins jazz (horns, Naw Orlins.)
 Soulful swing played on horsehair string.(fiddler)

a scurrying squirrel
pivot hiding or (privet hiding)
seen 
response to: 
William Vlach

@vbvlach
a hawk listens for scurrying feet, winter park

whispers of inspiration, 

a notion under wonderment- 

writing again 

Memories lay curled. 
Inner balance skewed
thick, dark, tumbled.

Real life
see others as they are
familiar and strange

clean water smells
rest in the moonless dark
tomorrow is today

I want a big one
the size of my shoes,labeled
Harry Suitcase Simpson

Route 66
Lightening fast
McQueen's Porsche

one takes a journey
the other stays home
renunited, stories to tell

My thoughts trail behind
as I pass through the doorway,
forgotten.

January NaHaiWriMo

Tenacious trekkers
journey through a rarely-seen
ribbon of time. 

Patterned pathways of speckled sunlight
guiding avid adventurers.

Dangling treasure
for avid adventurers,
hidden in nature. 

Wedding Blessing: A verse in Colossians speaks of being rooted in faith, growing in
knowledge and overflowing with gratitude- one faith, hope, and Lord.
The cord of faith in Jesus binds you, and dreams for your future begin with God’s guiding hand of love. Your faith in Jesus, the fullness of hope, and love for each other tie you together. You become one as you blend your lives to complement each other. Love each other like the soil loves the tree and gives it all the space it needs. 

Lesser long nose bat flies through the night. 

Hunting Agave plants by smell and sight. 	

Agave is sweeter than honey.	

Its nectar is thin and runny.  

For this night flier, it’s a great delight. 
Limerick Sunday

National Geographic Picture https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/lesser-long-nosed-bat

Tempean beauty
Tranquil coastal charmer
Titivated lace

Spanish moss is a beneficial epiphytic flowering plant. Photo taken in Charleston, SC.

Tempean ox-eye
titivated petals bloom
butterflies dance

Leptos' flight guided 
by scented highways,
Saguaro Cactus

Xeric ecosystem
Desert wildlife host
Saguaro cactus flower

Sun-loving shrub
Xenomorphic hibiscus
Aussie delight

Xenogeneic
gene transfer evolution
clueless aftermath
@BleuOwl

Vermilion cardinal
resplendent and showy
pulchritudinous

Autumn
	f
	a
	l
	l	
        s 
         silent 
under the evening
s
   n
     o
        w

p
r
i
s
m
a
t
i
c        
wash of golden                                 r                                            a                                      i                                     n

Bittersweet
E
M
O
T
I
O
N
S
in a vintage
B
O
T
T
L
E

Hegemonic media parrots the same song.

Complementary muliebrity of inner beauty blooms.

				          b  
				       r     e
				    e           a
				 n                 u
			       n                      t
 Complementary muliebrity of i                           y--blooms.

(Note: When a woman’s inner and outer beauty shines as one, and the kindness of her soul sparkles, it melds into the essence of femininity—this is something only women do.)

Genetic 
 	haec·
             ce·
                i·ty
            // new_ 
      internal coding 
   life begins at
conception.

the soft adagio of mourning dove

weeds have no place
running wild without boundaries
pachysandra's felicity

Mountain hiking with a friend 
Nature's beauty is a godsend
Eagle eye 
Perch high
Climbing high only to descend
#SundayLimerick
Mountain hiking with friends
Hoping this day never ends
Eagle eye
Perch high
Nature's artistry, little dividends

benison of golden
        r
             a
                   i
                         n
                wafts of perfume,  
         butterfly flight path. 
Haiku Dialog

By Rhonda Brown rhondalbrown1028@gmail.com https://brontebrown2.com/

1. Autumn falls silent under the evening snow 
2. bluegrass under feet, goose pimples felicity 
3. living life in a fog, drifting desperately
4. out on a limb hanging by a stem whirlybirds take flight
5. complementary muliebrity of inner femininity blooms. 
6. sweet benison of sunlit air after golden rain, prismatic joy.
7. Nature's beauty shines in the beholder's eyes, beware of bears.
8. evening shadows on crisscrossing paths, uninterrupted
9. Eventide, tealights glow, cicadas sing, swish goes the porch swing.
10. slow, slow, quick-quick, slow, light dances on the water, footprints in the sand (a swish and a turn)

quiescent tide
rhythmic pace of the porch swing
tealights glow

faded white wood planks
engulfed in quamoclit
quiescent and quaint 

frozen heart
a kind touch
melting point

#HaikuSaturday #haiku #senryu #nature #poem #poetrycommunity #poetry #Poet #haikuchallenge  Haiku Dialog- Precipitation @NaHaiWriMo Ache

Hills and hollers of Arkansas
Stomping grounds for Grandpa
Magnificent feat
Nature's treat
Summers' cold water spa

#Limerick #LimerickSunday
Cedar Falls, Petite Jean State Park
#amwriting #poetry

anatomy of a tree
expose for all to see
pen and ink
tickled pink
delightful artistry
#Limerick #LimerickSunday

Rhonda L Brown / USA
rlbrown1028@gmail.com
Tweets by RhondaLBrown2
brontebrown


The following Kyoka haikus are written by Rhonda L Brown (me)

Kyoka were Japanese poems that did not conform to the prescribed norms of waka imagery and diction
. Kyoka, poems are less serious and more humorous. With its often political and social content, the kyoka tends to be sardonic and ironic. It can parody the waka and use slang. The kyoka also echoes Senryu in its thematic preoccupation with human nature. 



1.  the night sky frolics
    under silvery moonbeams
    in stillness, dreams come
    night recedes behind the stars-
    no thought to pending troubles
    tomorrow sleeps

2.  unison parrots
    hegemony media 
    demise of America
    wokeness from within-
    discernment's gift is knowing 
    the difference between the two.

3. If rain no longer fell,    If rain ceased to fall Would poignant tears cease
   would tears cease to flow?    would your tears no longer flow?
   If blue dropped from the sky,     Would your smile retrun
   would  your smile return?    If the blue dropped from the sky?
   If longing is understood,       
   would you be free to love -   
   again?
   
H. Gene Murtha Memorial Senryu Contest Rules
Two poems per poet
Unpublished

1. a morrowless day
   of whistling threnodies,
   a fresh tomorrow. 

2. 
Faded white wood planks 
engulfed in quamoclit,
quiescent and quaint.

praj·​na. ˈprəjnə plural -s. : transcendental wisdom or supreme knowledge in Buddhism gained through intuitive insight.
command
Ajna translates as "authority" or "command" (or "perceive"). It is considered the eye of intuition and intellect. Its associated sense organ is the mind.

Hegemony media , Fact or opinion, Null Hypothesis,

This quote is spoken by King Lear about his daughter, Goneril. He's comparing the pain he feels having her—a thankless daughter—to a snake bite. He says that the pain she causes him is “sharper” or more painful than any snake bite.
How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child. 

Slow evanescent
yet, time spins memories
Of you

the sky swishes
the hammock sways 
under a zenith moon, 
untroubled. 

a zephyr breeze
weaves through the zariba hedge
moments  of solitude 
or 
moments before the seige.

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

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

Jungle Gym on steroids
Welcome, all humanoids
Imagination
Play Station
Parallel universe- TRAPezoids. #LimerickSunday #LimerickRhyme 
Outside play station in Korea