Branded in My Heart

Branded in My Heart

Time passes like grains of gold sand,
Slipping fast through my weathered hands.
Precious children, pure works of art…
Forever branded in my heart.

I guided you through storms of life,
Held you close through moments of strife.
No hand of fate can tear apart…
Forever branded in my heart.

Your laughter rings so clear and loud,
Your shining eyes have made me proud
You’ll stay with me when I depart…
Forever branded in my heart.

Time passes like grains of gold sand…
Forever branded in my heart.

Colleen Keller Breuning © 2026
March 21, 2026

Happy Saturday and Happy Spring – it finally arrived yesterday! Today was such a beautiful day ~ I got up in a happy and rested mood. While having my coffee, I scribbled down the bones of this poem dedicated to my children (whom I miss dearly). And then I set to work out in my garden.

The side yard was in dire need of weeding, raking and trimming back old iris leaves that I got too busy to tackle in autumn. Mark my words – I’ll never neglect that task again! It was horribly overgrown, soaking wet and quite a challenge to cut. The weed whacker was buried somewhere in the garage, uncharged – so I just dug in and cleared it out with my dull pruning shears and a short rake. Beneath all that heavy, wet and mulchy mess were beautiful green shoots just waiting to be freed from their prison of dead leaves. I had forgotten to plant a few pink hyacinth bulbs last fall – I found them in a paper bag, starting to sprout. So I planted about 8 of them in a semi-circle, hopefully they’ll sprout up nicely (though probably a bit later in the season).

My L-shaped raised garden box surrounding our deck was already full of blooming narcissus and daffodils, but there were quite a few stubborn weeds surrounding them. Most of the white blooming weeds were easy to pull since the soil was moist. However, the dandelion roots took a little more effort. I spent all day out there and filled 4 huge garden bags with the weeds, clippings, leaves and dried hydrangea puffs. I added a few spinner flowers and a windmill spinner to the backyard, posted an old shepherd hook with a windchime, and swept up the driveway and front walk.

By the time I finished at 4 pm, I had over 20,000 steps and every muscle in my body had gotten a quite a workout. But it was worth it – the yard looked so beautiful and inviting! But that was only half of the task. Tomorrow if I’m not too sore, I will work on the front flower bed and maybe the rock garden up on the ridge…. maybe. Here’s hoping that your gardens and flower beds are popping with spring colors and the birds are singing. It’s pure serenity being out in nature, listening to the cardinals, robins and bluejays – it brings such peace and joy. Have a great weekend! Xoxo

Love,
Colleen

Ecrits Blogophilia Week 38.17 – The Ayes (or Eyes) Have It
Hard Bonus: Incorporate the phrase “make me proud”
Easy Bonus: Include something green and something gold