marriage – Colleen Keller Breuning

Passion of the Soul

Passion of the Soul

Deep within my soul
there is a passion burning
hotter than black coal.

Time to seize the wine
hearts entwined, fervent yearning
carpe vinum time

Pink twilight begins
stars glow in velvet dusk skies
nights in white satin

Summer song of June
love blooms right before my eyes
beneath amber moon

Swooning, unsteady
scent of lilacs fills the air
setting my mind free

Plunge into the fray
heed the voice with no despair
stronger by the day

Colleen Keller Breuning © 2024
May 24, 2024

Happy Saturday! I have returned from our trip to Florida to babysit the nuggets while Katie and Brenton were in Europe. It was a whirlwind, busy time – but so much fun! We made so many wonderful memories with the little ones, and I’m so grateful for this time. 😀 As you know, toddlers are very high energy and by the end of each day we were absolutely whooped! I am still trying to get caught up on work things and laundry.

I wrote this poem on the plane on our return flight. Just a haiku series mood piece, reflecting the love, hope, comfort and strength of relationships. There’s nothing better than having a caring, loving partner to do life with. I’m so grateful for Dan, and our love just keeps getting stronger all the time. For me, it’s been such a joy to see him as Gramps to our little nuggets. He is so good with them, and knows how to make them giggle. I have a lot of sweet videos and pictures of the three of them.

I hope you all have a relaxing Memorial Day weekend. Take some time on Monday to remember those who gave their lives to our great country. Love you all! ❤

Xoxo,
Colleen

Mood: Love
Inspiration: “Let’s Stay Together” by Al Green – this is our song!!

Ecrits Blogophilia Week 47.15 – Passion of the Soul
Hard Bonus: Include a Latin phrase or saying (“Carpe vinum” meaning “seize the wine”)
Easy Bonus: Incorporate a song title by The Moody Blues (“Nights in White Satin” and “The Voice”)

The Art of Letting Go

The Art of Letting Go

pain
unwinds
hold me tight
fingers entwined
throughout the long night
as fear churns through my mind
awaken me from bad dreams
quiet my screams as darkness falls
grotesque shadows dance upon my walls
the light at the end of the tunnel glows
the point of no return, nobody knows
though grains of sand are trickling fast
our opportunities have passed
albeit through storms and strife
fused together, one life
my anchor, my rock
love pure and true
I am lost
without
you

Colleen Keller Breuning © 2023
November 9, 2023

Mood: Emotional
Inspiration: “Politik” by Coldplay

Dear Family and Friends,

There is just so much heartbreak in the world these days, so much pain. Being an empath, it seeps underneath my skin and eats away at my soul some days. It is hard to just shake off, sometimes I listen to music to try and purge it out of my being. But pieces of the sadness remain and fester.

When I am sick, these feelings intensify and emotion wells up inside me until I can release it in some way – talking, writing, crying…. I wrote snippets of this on the plane coming home from Florida, still struggling physically from the aftermath of COVID, exhausted and missing my love so badly. Feeling like I had no control in my life, feeling hopeless, having trouble catching my breath…..

Would I ever feel better again after COVID, how long would it take to get my health back this time around? The first time took months. So many negative thoughts drowning out the positivity and gratitude I have for my wonderful life! Then I get angry and frustrated at myself for feeling this way. It’s a vicious circle. Things could be worse, how lucky I am to be as healthy as I have been thus far in life. But I’m an impatient woman who doesn’t like to be held back by anything, especially a damned manufactured virus!

No, patience has never been one of my virtues. My poker face is transparent, and I wear my emotions on my sleeve. I am that person who has it written all over her face, with eye rolls and sighs. Anxiety has ruled my seas, and at times whipped into a frenzy and debilitating. Some days it feels like I’m drowning. It’s hard to breathe at times, it makes me fearful, bad dreams, worrying about the future, what if I get sick, what if he gets sick, we’re getting older, how much time do we have left? Will my Mom be okay, my husband, my kids, my grandkids? It all spins about in my head, psychedelic COVID dreams taunt me, and I wake in a cold sweat. Then I open my eyes and breathe. I am alive. I am human. I will be okay. Life will go on. Things will get better. One day at a time.

So that’s what this poem is about – being in the grips of anxiety and dealing with one’s fear about the future. Hang tight, and keep on going, my friends and family. I love you!
xoxo, Colleen

Ecrits Blogophilia Week 19.15 – Opportunity
Hard Bonus: Include a song title by Andrew Lloyd Weber (“The Light At the End of the Tunnel”; “Point of No Return”)
Easy Bonus: Use the word “albeit”

Infinity

Infinity

cold
morning
leaves swirling
thoughts drifting back
to my past struggles
a long and winding path
my heart scarred, my soul shattered
but life is full of surprises
fate placed us both in Oklahoma
two lives intersecting at point in time
forces cast us onto divergent paths
then looped us back to infinity
upon the wings of hope and trust
you healed my broken spirit
infusing me with strength
fresh blood in my veins
long story short
love and faith
rescued
me

Colleen Keller Breuning
September 30, 2023

Happy Saturday! This was a pretty daunting challenge this week. To make a long story short, I kind of built this piece around the word “Kalamazoo,” even though it doesn’t appear inside of my poem. My husband Dan is a Michigan man, born in Detroit and raised in Rochester. He went to college at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, and it got me to thinking that I wish I knew him back then. But it would have been literally impossible.

You see, we were both on journeys in our lives that took us from faraway places and placed us smack dab in the middle of Oklahoma in 1982, working in the same office at Arthur Anderson & Co. accounting firm. We had completely different lives, I was married and he had a steady girlfriend at the time. Then the oil and gas bust occurred, and layoffs began to happen. He took a position in Ft. Lauderdale with Deloitte, Haskins & Sells and eventually I divorced, moved back to Maryland and transferred to the AA&CO Washington, DC office. It was a soul crushing experience, the commute was numbing, and I longed for something more meaningful. Then a mutual friend mentor, Joni Frye Way, reconnected Dan and I back in the late 80’s when there was no internet or cell phones. We talked on the phone and wrote letters to each other that summer. In the fall, I flew to Florida for a visit, we fell in love, and as the saying goes, the rest is history. It got me to pondering – we are an infinity loop! Our lives looped, met and returned to permanently intersect.

Dan truly did rescue me… I am grateful for his love and support during our 35 years of marriage. He is truly the love of my life and my best friend. I thank God for putting me where I had to be to change my path in life and to get to where I was destined to be. I am forever grateful for that.

The cycle of friendship is another aspect of infinity that I experienced this week. I was blessed to meet my best college buddy Susan Miles Schlossburg for lunch on Thursday, we dined at Magnolia’s and got caught up on life happenings. Then on Friday night, I drove up to Maryland and met up with a fantastic group of St. Mary’s Catholic School friends at Antietam Brewery, which included my VVBFITWWW (very very best friend in the whole wide world) Marianne Krepp Hess. We’ve been besties since Kindergarten, then I left SMCS after 5th grade and we reconnected the summer between 8th and 9th grade. We’ve been through the best and worst of times, and I love her so much. There were a few classmates that I’d not seen since 5^th grade, and it was just so wonderful to reconnect and share memories and life stories. Friendship can be forever!

Life is truly miraculous, if you put things in perspective. The secret is that you have to put forth energy, be positive and count your blessings of health, love and life. So go ahead, reach out and make that reconnection to someone. Life is far too short and precious. I hope you have a great weekend, friends and family! Love y’all!

xoxo
Colleen

Mood: Happy
Inspiration: “You’re My Best Friend” by Queen

Ecrits Blogophilia Week 13.15 – To Make a Long Story Short
Hard Bonus: Incorporate a line from the movie “Elephant Man” (“Life is full of surprises”)
Easy Bonus: Mention Kalamazoo

Fate

Fate

Years passed, no regret
memories swirl in my head
I cannot forget

phone call from the past
your voice beckoned on the line
and our fates were cast

topsy turvy world
standing at the precipice
all my fears unfurled

two lives intersect
the merging of destiny
butterfly effect

warm Bahama breeze
plane taxied down long runway
sailed across blue seas

you showed me true love
something that I never knew
gift from God above

emotions so pure
through life’s sweet and trying times
our bond endures

Colleen Keller Breuning © 2022
November 19, 2022

This takes me way back to 1987, when my life most definitely changed for the better. Dan and I originally met in 1982 in Oklahoma City, where we both worked for Arthur Andersen & Company. We lived different lives back then, but socialized together in a large group of work friends. It was strictly platonic; however, he did give me a glowing performance evaluation for some work I did for him as a paraprofessional. Then the 1980’s oil and gas bust happened, he left for Florida for a new position, and I eventually divorced and transferred to Washington, DC. He found out through a mutual friend, and she gave him my number. After a series of catching up phone calls with Dan, he invited me down to Florida for our first date. I thought, “Why not? I know him very well already, plus he’s a nice guy and cute, too.” Well, he took me to the Bahamas for our first date – such a surprise! Long story short, we fell in love and knew that we were going to end up together. In fact, now that I think of it we got engaged 35 years ago. One of the best things that ever happened to me!

I have no regrets in my life. I believe that everything happens for a reason, though we may not know it at the time. Our lives are chaotic, we experience heartbreak, we take risks, we give our heart and hope for the best. The journey we go through makes us the person we are. I wouldn’t be the strong person I am today without conquering the challenges I have faced at many points of my life. I am grateful for the love, wisdom and joy that I have come to know in life. That’s all. Just some random thoughts running through my head as I prepare for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Life is such a blessing!

I hope you all have a wonderful, Happy Thanksgiving!

xoxo
Colleen

Mood: Lovey dovey
Inspiration: “Let’s Stay Together” – Al Green

Ecrits Blogophilia Week 20.14 Topic: Topsy Turvy
Hard Bonus: Discuss the Butterfly Effect
Easy Bonus: Mention a taxi or Uber

Beyond the Spanish Moss

Beyond the Spanish Moss

Scrub pines and banyans beckon
bedecked with Spanish moss
lazy cumulus clouds drift free
across the periwinkle horizon.

Fiery sun rises opposite the moon
its early morning heat blazing
as the dragonfly silently hovers
alighting on dew drenched lily pad.

The blue heron turns, unblinking
lifts long delicate wings in flight
gliding gracefully across the bay
and the seagulls are calling, calling.

The wind is shifting as waves crash
and there’s a white mist blinding me
tears trickle, my world shifts and tilts
I feel my heart being pulled homeward.

Shall I cling to you like Spanish moss,
move in tandem with balmy breeze?
Might my lips burn like the August sun,
and make the heat rise within you?

Soon our arms entwine and lift in flight
as we soar across the azure sea
sailing far beyond Spanish moss
ascending past the stars into eternity.

Colleen Keller Breuning © 2021
July 11, 2021

Paradise

5123 — "Bahama Seagulls"
Colleen M. Breuning (c) 2011

Paradise

A balmy breeze ruffled the palm trees as they lay in the sun, in the sanctuary of their wooden cabana. The gentle surf tumbled and pushed forth, leaving ripple marks in the sugar soft sand. Overhead, black-headed seagulls dipped, scolded and cried out to their mates, landing on the barrier rocks searching for food. If this wasn’t paradise, it was pretty damn close in his mind.

He glanced over at her lying in repose, clad in her new leopard print swimsuit, her skin bronzed by the Bahamian sun. He shut his eyes and thought of their moonlight rendezvous, shuddering with delight. No…. there was no need for bringing back sexy moves or adding spice to their relationship. Last night was proof that it had never left, even at this juncture of their life. He felt blessed that the fires of passion still burned between them. So often he heard coworkers joking and make derogatory remarks about their old “ball-and-chain” wives. She had never been that, and never would be to him. He would never, never give in or stoop so low to say one negative thing about her. True, she had her faults; she was human, after all. But in his mind, she was simply perfect.

He still remembered the very first time he looked into those big brown eyes of hers, how she captivated his heart with her warm Southern accent and her easy manner. They had belonged to others then, but something inside him told him that they were destined to be together. He once confided his innermost feelings to a mutual friend, and it was she who put them back in touch. For that, he would be eternally grateful.

The heat of the April sun was building, and she stirred, stretching lazily like a cat. She asked him if he wanted to take a dip in the ocean with her. They rose and holding hands, strode to the water’s edge. The breakers caressed their ankles and enticed them to wade out deeper. The seawater was shockingly cold until they immersed themselves completely. As they rose out of the water, their skin puckered with goosebumps, they erupted in giggles. She circled her arms around his neck, and he embraced her, carrying her deeper into the water. She sighed and nuzzled beneath his earlobe, whispering that she felt so lucky to be in paradise with him. He told her that no matter where they were, it was always paradise to him. She drew away and looked at him with those big brown eyes, now etched with fine lines, and smiled. As his lips covered hers, her eyes closed and she sighed, floating deeper into paradise beneath the Bahamian sun.

The Details

The Details ~ Blogophilia 5.4
Blogophilia 5.4 Topic: “A Crazy Twist of Fate”
Bonus Points:
(Hard, 2pts):Mention 3 Sports (I used curling, wrestling, sailing & hang gliding)
(Easy, 1pt):Use Tap Dancing

Final date to post: April 5th, 2011 GMT midnight
Final date to post ALL GUESSES: April 2nd, 2011 GMT midnight

The Details

It was a snowy day in February
when you first laid eyes on me.
I sat on display in the partner’s office,
my chocolate hair curling down my back.
It fails me when I first spotted you
from behind my glass partition.
Our hearts were tethered to others;
you kept a respectable distance for years.

But I still remember what I was wearing…
a crimson blouse with white piping,
tartan plaid wool skirt and dress boots.

Our lives took different twists and turns —
you moved south and I moved east,
bound by the long cord of mutual friends.
I was wrestling with my desperation,
weary of my mind numbing existence
when you called me that hot night in July.
I don’t remember exactly what you said,
but you sent my heart sailing like a kite.

But I still remember what I was doing…
hand washing dishes in my lavender suit,
sweat dripping down into the soapy water.

It was a sunny day in late November
that we sat in the hotel restaurant
watching sunlight glint on aqua waters,
the seagulls hang gliding in azure skies.
You and I, on the other side of paradise,
gazing into each other’s eyes
and tap dancing around our future.
I can’t recall the exact plans we made.

But I still remember what I was eating…
a cheeseburger with pineapple,
dill pickle spear and a side of fries.

I never went searching for another prince
because I don’t believe in fairy tales.
So perhaps it was predestined
or written in the distant stars,
perhaps it was a crazy twist of fate
that our lives would intersect.
The sands of time fall, memory eludes,
but some details you just can’t forget.

And I still remember how I was feeling…
like the luckiest princess in the kingdom,
to finally have another chance at love again.

Dedicated to my husband Dan!

SECRET BONUS POINT GUESSES:

Mystery lady/mystery woman, masked woman, belle of the ball, masquerade, princess, Cinderella, Mardi Gras, fairy tale, who’s that lady, hoop skirt, hidden, behind the mask, wicked, candelabra, opera candles, burning up, candle crown, phantom of the opera, opera glasses……..