Tag Archives: light

Light Fading

Light Fading

Twilight is falling,
autumn breeze blowing.
Past the honeysuckle bushes,
my tired feet are slowing.

My breath comes in gasps
under periwinkle skies.
Can you see the light fading
when you look into my eyes?

Is this how it will go
when we get to the end?
Will you take one last glimpse
and let my spirit ascend?

Will you hold me and dance
beneath the amber moon?
Or kiss my lips tender
as the wayward geese swoon?

I’m grasping onto moments
like the free-falling sand.
Can you see time slipping through
my pale weathered hands?

Now the wind pushes onward
and like a willow, I bend.
As I grow ever weaker,
will you hold me til the end?

Then search for my light
in the field of white stars.
Speak to me nightly
as I watch from afar.

Tuck away our memories
and forget them, never.
My spirit glows in your heart,
for my love is forever.

Colleen Keller Breuning © 2022
August 21, 2022

I wrote this about a month ago and tweaked it today, on my Dad’s 88th heavenly birthday. As I get older and closer to the age he was when he died back in 2002, I can only imagine how sad he must have felt in his final months. I am sure he wanted to hold onto all of us for as long as he possibly could, despite his pain… It made me ponder and think of how I would feel, if I knew that my time was ending soon. How much I would miss my sweet husband, my children, my grandchildren, and my family and friends! Not wanting to cause pain, but knowing they would be devastated after I was gone. It also provides some insight and a reminder that we should live every single day to the fullest, and be grateful for those in our lives. We never know how much time we have left on this Earth.

Not trying to be melancholy, but sometimes my mind goes to these places and this is how I deal with it. My poetry is my refuge, my comfort, my way to deal with overwhelming emotions. I share it so that you can take from it what you want, and to feel whatever emotion the words might dredge up inside your soul.  I wish you all peace, love and pray that you continue to make happy memories and cherish your loved ones. I know I certainly will!

xoxo Colleen

Inspiration: Moby “Everloving”
Mood: Thoughtful

Butterfly Piano

Butterfly Piano

Keys
caressed
by fingers
gently stroking
black and ivory
sweet music sets us free
crimson blood thrums in our veins
as intangible passions stir
on wings of enchanted butterfly
resonating in hollows of my heart
take me to this place of serenity
your wings cover mine, softly guide me
chills down my spine, the song begins
our spirits take flight at dusk
delicate pas de deux
as two souls entwine
eternally
let each note
light the
dark

Colleen Keller Breuning © 2021
September 14, 2021

Mood: Golden Butterflies by Ludovico Einaudi

Paper Cranes

Paper Cranes

Hope trickles down in purple rain 
As I wait for the morning light
Amidst one thousand paper cranes.

Anxiety flows through my veins,
Cries of anguish deep in the night.
Hope trickles down in purple rain.

The robins sing in sweet refrain,
Welcoming the sun with delight
Amidst one thousand paper cranes.

Bury my fears, bury my pain, 
Spilling tears and ink as I write.
Hope trickles down in purple rain.

Breaking free from these heavy chains,
I am a lone dove taking flight
Amidst one thousand paper cranes.

Simple words can never explain
Depression’s devastating plight.
Hope trickles down in purple rain 
Amidst one thousand paper cranes.

Colleen Keller Breuning © 2021
March 26, 2021

I was going to write a light-hearted ditty about bears having a picnic in the forest, but I just couldn’t make it work within the confines of this week’s Blogophilia prompts. The Prince lyrics and the paper cranes steered me to write this villanelle, a poetry format I have not written in a while. It was fun, like putting a word puzzle together. I love that kind of challenge!

One of my favorite fairy tales was the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. It brings back wonderful childhood memories of Mom reading us bedtime stories from an old book.  I just purchased an enchanting book for Posie that also features this illustrated story.  I can’t wait to give it to her and better yet, read it to her!

The paper cranes/purple rain image above was created by me…using commons pics from Pixabay.

Ecrits Blogophilia Week 2.14 Topic: The Three Bears
Hard Bonus (2 points):  Use a lyric from a Prince song (“purple rain” from Purple Rain; “I am a dove” from I Would Die 4 U) 
Easy Bonus (1 Point): Mention “paper cranes”

This Week’s Pic

SECRET PHRASE GUESSES:

  1. Fairy tales (in blog)
  2. Goldilocks & the Three Bears (in blog)
  3. Wonderful childhood memories (in blog)
  4. Bedtime stories (in blog)
  5. Childhood imagination
  6. Shadow dancing
  7. Childhood dreams
  8. Dreamland
  9. Read me a story, Mommy!
  10. Alone in my room

Topic:  Leta    Picture:  Stormy

Masks and Lies

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Morgue File Free Photos © 2016

Masks and Lies

Blaze the spark of early fires
Velvet whispers, deep desires
Muted rapture in the dying light
You are shadows, I am the night.

Don’t listen to the weathermen
They talk about the rain again
Tap your homicidal feelings
Paint the sky upon the ceiling.

But you fall to dust and crumble
In walls of words that tumble
Knowing the liar has no truth to give
And he has to have a lie to live.

No matter where the river flows,
I must follow where my mind goes
Masked by clouds, just out of sight
You are shadows, I am the night.

Colleen Keller Breuning © 2016
January 27, 2016

To Mingle With Shooting Stars

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To Mingle With Shooting Stars

These tired bones ache
and the futile tears fall
undetected, unrelenting,
like soft rain on a summer day.

The wind stills in deference
to a radiant light rising up,
drawing closer, closer
as I crawl to the precipice.

I am about to take my last voyage,
a great leap in the dark
where faith meets fate,
where screams in dreams are silenced.

Will I fall like a lead weight
or sprout butterfly wings;
sink into the fiery depths
or ascend a stairway to heaven?

Plunged into the frigid darkness,
holy water seeps through my skin,
coming clean of past transgressions,
purifying my tarnished soul.

Thunder shakes heaven and earth,
the sentinel angels have spoken;
my body and spirit finally set free
to mingle with shooting stars.

Colleen Keller Breuning © 2015
September 1, 2015

For my dear friend Deborah Truitt…RIP.  I love you.

Those Were The Days

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Those Were The Days

The moon glides slow in sky of gauze
as dense fog shrouds golden sunlight
sinking down beneath the mountain
deep into the indigo night.

Hush now, summer is fading fast
say goodbye to the firefly’s glow
the lily will not long endure
in pure white fields of early snow.

We move against the hands of time
guided by some remote control
longing for carefree yesterdays,
for memories that make us whole.

Those were the days, those were the days
unending laughter, young and free
those were the days that shaped my soul…
oh, won’t you bring them back to me?

Speak softly to the rising winds
and listen to the sage’s words
eyes focused on the morning light
ears bathed in sweet song of bluebirds.

Time flies onward, we live and die
as hope and wisdom flow our way
cry no more for those days long past
with open arms, greet the new day.

Colleen Keller Breuning © 2015
August 26, 2015

Falling

FallingFalling

The sun has gone missing
held hostage by defiant clouds
heavy skies aching, stripped of light
while the dark matter pulls us down…

We are blind to our own blindness
thinking inside narrow boxes
afraid to color outside the lines
hiding within our own shadows…

Falling for fools, falling in love
we fall out of favor with ourselves
trying to pretend time stands still
as the mirror reveals hard truths…

C’est la vie, mon ami
it’s just the way of the world
for the Earth tilts on its axis
hurtling towards tomorrow…

We defy the theory of relativity
stepping into the black hole
free falling to our destiny
faster than the speed of light….

…and gravitation cannot be held responsible.

Colleen Keller Breuning © 2015
August 12, 2015

Into the Sun’s Embrace

Into the Sun’s Embrace

One life lived in limbo,
teetering on the brink.
You swim against strong currents
as all hope begins to sink.

Stripped of all belongings
and rendered colorblind;
Restless nights and wasted time,
the past has been unkind.

You stand alone in judgment
and utter truthful words.
They echo in the brittle air
like a distant crying bird.

As I bow my head to pray,
maternal instincts swell.
If only I could scoop you up
and save you from this hell…

Open up your broken heart,
shed your fears, atone.
Feel the warmth inside you,
know that you are not alone.

With the golden dawn comes hope,
the promise of something new.
Step into the sun’s embrace,
where a new day waits for you.

Colleen M. Breuning © 2012
March 27, 2012

Ode to Elly


Blogophilia 50.3 Topic: “There is no “I” in Team”

Bonus Points:

(Hard, 2pts):  mention a Maya Angelou quote
(Easy, 1pt) : incorporate a unique use for honey

Final date to post: February 12th, 2011 GMT midnight
Final date to post ALL GUESSES: February 15th, 2011 GMT midnight

 

Ode to Elly

I read the news and sat motionless for hours,
Staring out the window at the sky black as coal.
I searched in vain for solace, words of wisdom…
As pangs of sorrow echoed through my soul.

She painted passionate portraits with her quill,
A songbird’s cry, whispering lovers who part.
Her words are the honey that soothes the sting…
They hold together the broken pieces of our hearts.

Now our heads bow down in silent prayer,
Hot tears melding with the gentle winter rain.
Hear her tender voice wafting in the breeze…
Filling us with warm comfort, easing the pain.

She is an angel in funky boots watching over us all,
Surely as the fading sun sets and distant planets spin.
She sails on in dark skies, ever dancing on moonbeams…
Nothing can dim the light which shines from within.

Colleen M. Breuning © 2011
February 11, 2011

I was all set to let Tommy take the helm this week and write a funny blog.  That was, until I woke up this morning and went through my usual habit of checking the Facebook feed.  It was so early I had not even had my first cup of coffee.  I was directed over to a Myspace Blog written by my dear friend Lainey, where I read the heartbreaking news that our beloved friend Elly Funky Boots had passed away of lung cancer on Tuesday, February 8.  I was, quite simply, stunned…. and deeply saddened.

To all of the writers who knew her on Myspace, Elly Funky Boots was a sweet, compassionate woman with a heart of gold and a very talented pen.  More than that, she had a wicked sense of humor and was a real friend to everyone she encountered.  She was an integral part of the CPC and Harmony Pub blogs, and she truly was one of those people who believed that there was no “I” in Team. She collaborated with fellow poets, encouraged fledgling writers and even hosted poetic challenges at different venues at Myspace during the blogging heydays.

I had the privilege to get to know Elly a little better in 2009, when she became a featured poet at my e-zine Blue Turtle Crossing.  She was very gracious and generous, basically granting me full access to her blogs to pick and choose from the many delightful offerings of her poetry.  She was intensely private, preferring to only go by her pen name of Elly.  I had prod her a little to allow her to let me publish a photograph of her on the site, as she was a very modest lady who preferred to let her adorable, wild “funky boots” avatars set her apart from all the rest.

I never even knew that her real name was Patty until today.  Rest in peace, dearest Patty.  You will be missed, my dear friend.

Marvin, the Maya Angelou quote I used is:

“Nothing can dim the light which shines from within.”

Also ~ I will send in my secret bonus points separately this week, as I do not want to detract from the serious nature of this blog.

HUGS and LOVE to all my friends who knew and loved Elly!