snow – Colleen Keller Breuning

Promise of the Rose

Promise of the Rose

A promised green garden withers to seed,
Dried petals scattered on the barren ground.
Silent anguish as the crimson rose bleeds,
Grief carried on the wind without a sound.

Tears burn a path when hope has slipped away,
Hot crystals sparking precious memories.
The fragrance of the summer jasmine sway,
The gentle rhythm of the crashing sea.

Now the nightingale sings a soothing tune,
Spread your wings, set your restless spirit free.
It’s time to soar beyond the crescent moon,
For the universe is your destiny.

Somewhere beyond a million silver stars,
Eternal rapture beckons from afar.

Colleen Keller Breuning © 2021
February 15, 2021

A repost of a poem written and dedicated to Cherry Rose, a kind and beloved poet who passed away. Love to all! xoxo

Come listen to my poetry reading on Spotify!!!

My Christmas Spirit

My Christmas Spirit

Tender hearts swell with gratitude,
The season casts its festive mood.
Twilight twirls in fresh fallen snow
As Christmas lights twinkle and glow.

Cardinals cavort in branches bare,
Winter sun fades in crimson flair.
Your spirit calls when cold winds blow
As Christmas lights twinkle and glow.

Memories of you warm my soul,
Your absence left a gaping hole.
Tears and emotions ebb and flow
As Christmas lights twinkle and glow.

Tender hearts swell with gratitude
As Christmas lights twinkle and glow.

Colleen Keller Breuning © 2021
December 31, 2021

Memories of Christmas past always come to mind as I am decorating for the Christmas holidays. This year, for the first time in 8 years, I decided to put up some of my Dickens villages. It always makes me think of my father, for some reason. He delighted in seeing the lighted houses when he visited our Florida home shortly before he was diagnosed with cancer in 2001. We had him around until February 2003, and then our whole world changed.

Not having Dad around, especially at the holidays, makes me a little melancholy at times. He is my own personal Christmas spirit that comforts me when I am feeling sad or unsettled. I know he’s watching down on everyone in our family, with a huge smile. I believe he’s proud of all of us, to see how our families have grown. I only wish my grandchildren could have met him. I miss you and love you, Dad.

I hope all of you had a wonderful 2021 and holiday season, despite all the turmoil, COVID, and heartbreak we have seen in this world. I wish you all peace, health and joy in 2022!

Love,
Colleen

Mood: Pensive
Inspiration: “In the Bleak Midwinter” by Ric Mills

Spring Equinox

Spring Equinox

Ides of March haunt me
as I sulk in my bedroom
wallow in darkness

winter winds persist
robins ruffle breast feathers
at the hint of snow

shades of ivory
floating free from the heavens
melting on impact

new dawn breaks golden
sun rays caress tulip buds
cherry trees blossom

feel the world shifting
on cusp of spring equinox
birdsong lifts my heart

Colleen Keller Breuning © 2021
March 20, 2021

Meet & Greet:

Happy Spring and Happy Anniversary to us! My real name is Colleen Marie Keller Breuning and I’m a faithful Blogophiliac to the core. I can’t believe it’s been 14 years that we’ve been blogging together in Blogophilia!

I joined in 2008, the very first season — not sure the exact week, but I estimate sometime between Week 11 & 15. I remember seeing Blogophilia when it first launched, but I just lurked a while because I wasn’t sure if I was up to the challenge. I believe I saw a few of the poets and writers from other Myspace groups posting there – DJ Myke, Violeta Falo, Craig Fallon and Dahlia Ramone come to mind. I decided to dive in head-first with a revealing emo poem. I think Tyler Myrth joined about the same time as me or a few weeks later. And I do not think I’ve missed one week since then, despite vacations, illnesses, crazy work hours, exhaustion, life in general and lack of motivation!

The thing I love most about Blogophilia is the friendship and camaraderie within the group. I have met several of the present and past participants in real life: Violeta Falo, Dahlia Ramone, Christine Wichman and Lisa Kessler. And the funny thing is I met all of them during various trips to California. I would love to meet more of you in the future! Let me know if you are ever in the Northern VA/Washington DC area. I would be happy to meet you at a winery (but of course)! 😉

Another thing I love about Blogophilia is that it’s the ONE thing that has kept me writing consistently every single week!!! Honestly if not for that weekly challenge, I would probably be quite lazy and just not write. I try hard to find at least an hour or so on a Friday or Saturday to dedicate to writing. If you do the math, since we have now completed 13 years, that is roughly around 676 weeks of writing challenges! (WOW!!!!!) That means 676 poems that I otherwise may not have written on my own. I also love that the different challenges (some very boggling) often lead me down a rabbit hole, and I end up writing something I normally would not write. The one thing I most regret is not having enough time lately to visit everyone’s blogs. It weighs on my mind that life is so busy that I can’t even do the reading I WANT to do. Work and life circumstances have been taking up the majority of my time recently. I apologize and hope to do better! *sigh*

So thank you for the years of dedication to our group and the writing inspiration, Marvin Martian and the entire gang of Blogophiliacs! I love you all!! ❤

Ecrits Blogophilia Week 1.14 Topic: Happy Anniversary to Us (Topic Provided by Marvin)
Bonuses – Choose up to three bonus suggestions and use in your blog to score 2 points each (6 points maximum): From the list Marvin provided I used: 1. Ivory for the 14^th anniversary. 2. Ides of March. 3. Something a 14 year old likes to do – sulk in bedroom

*****MEET & GREET – Score extra points for introducing yourself either on the WordPress blog or the Ecrits Blogophilia Facebook post. Include your name, when you started with Blogophilia and your favorite thing about the Blogophilia writing group/challenges!!!*****

SECRET PHRASE GUESSES:

1. Party Time
2. Hey Mr. DJ
3. Hit the Dance Floor
4. Move it to the rhythm
5. Get into the Groove
6. Pump up the Jam!
7. Techno Beat
8. Mosh pit
9. Dancing machine
10. Let the rhythm move you

Touch the Alabaster Skies

Touch the Alabaster Skies

A distant future waits for me
Beyond the black, turbulent sea
My hopes and fears to be reckoned,
Multiplying by the second.

Clouds break above the bare oak trees;
A distant future waits for me.
Dark thoughts pile in as wave crash down.
Limbs flail as I begin to drown.

I hear the mourning dove’s sad cries
and touch the alabaster skies.
A distant future waits for me;
I cast aside bad memories.

The golden moment has arrived,
Realizing faith and love thrived.
Running wild, feeling oh so free,
A distant future waits for me.

Colleen Keller Breuning @ 2021
January 1, 2021

A quatern for the New Year…. It is time to cast aside our bad memories and experiences of 2020 and have a positive outlook on 2021. I have been pondering 2020, and though it was a challenging year, there were some blessings. (The biggest one for me was the birth of my granddaughter, Posie, of course!) And now a brand new year awaits us like a clean slate, with the opportunity to create love and peace in our own lives. I hope everyone has a Happy and Healthy 2021! xoxo ❤

Ecrits Blogophilia Week 43.13 Topic: A Distant Future
Hard Bonus (2 points): Incorporate a lyric by JJ Grey (“Dark thoughts pile in;” “The golden moment has arrived;” and “Running wild, feeling oh so free”)
Easy Bonus (1 Point): Include a math term or equation (multiply)

SECRET BONUS GUESSES:

1.  Space Oddity
2.  Astronaut Girl
3.  Moonwalk
4.  Space, the final frontier
5.  Star Trek
6.  Life on Mars
7.  Star Wars
8.  Red Planet
9.  Moon rocks
10. Man on the moon

Topic: Dave Coon Pic: Christine

Bells on Christmas Eve

Bells on Christmas Eve

Jupiter aligned with Saturn
and winter took a bitter turn.
Our flashlights scanned the galaxy
as the hoot owl whispered softly.

Do you remember hearing bells
jingling as Christmas Eve snow fell?
By my window cold and icy,
as the hoot owl whispered softly.

Where did you go? Why did you leave?
Bells break the silence as I grieve.
My shattered dreams a memory
as the hoot owl whispered softly.

Jupiter aligned with Saturn
as the hoot owl whispered softly.

Colleen Keller Breuning © 2020
December 24, 2020

For my Mom and Dad…. memories surround me this Christmas as we prepare for a very different and lonely holiday season without being able to be with family due to COVID. I am missing my family intensely this holiday season, particularly sad we cannot visit with Mom this Christmas. This poem contains elements and references to both of them; the repeating line was triggered by hearing a hoot owl several nights ago outside my window, the first time in our 8 years living here. My Mom loves owls, and she is a constant in our lives. ❤

Today I will be chopping walnuts, just like Dad did every Christmas Eve for his delicious walnut cake. I will never forget the excitement that both Dad and Mom brought all of us kids during the Christmas season. There are so many cherished memories – writing this took me back to the time as a child when I woke up on Christmas Eve, so excited that I heard jingle bells and tried to look out the icy window to see if Santa was on our roof! Even though we didn’t have a lot of material things growing up – we had a lot of love and that’s all that matters. I wish each of you a peaceful Christmas with lots of love and blessings. xoxo

Ecrits Blogophilia Week 42.13 Topic: The Meaning of Dreams
Hard Bonus (2 points): Mention a Childhood Memory (hearing bells jingling on Christmas Eve)
Easy Bonus (1 Point): Include Something Battery Operated (flashlights)

SECRET BONUS GUESSES:

1.  White fox
2.  The snow fox
3.  North Pole
4.  White out conditions
5.  The fox and the hound
6.  Foxy loxy
7.  Sly like a fox
8.  Fox is my spirit animal
9.  Snowblind
10.  Walking in a winter wonderland

Topic: Craig Picture: Lika

At First Frost

At First Frost

Dew
frozen
on grass blades
first frost comes late
crunching under boots
sudden change of seasons
as December tumbles down
cold air clashes with bitter winds
bare branches of the maples tremble
scored and stripped of their remaining brown leaves
alabaster clouds gather overhead
signaling their steely intentions
a gentle hush comes over me
white snow speaks in silent tongues
releasing pristine flakes
and I breathe deeply
as time stands still
winter draws
ever
nigh

Colleen Keller Breuning © 2020
December 4, 2020

Ecrits Blogophilia Week 39.13 Topic: Sudden Change of Seasons
Hard Bonus (2 points): Incorporate the phrase “first frost”
Easy Bonus (1 Point): Use the name of a punk rock band (Clash)

SECRET BONUS GUESSES:

1.  White snow (in blog)
2.  Pristine flakes (in blog)
3.  Frosty the Snowman
4.  Dreaming of a white Christmas
5.  Baby it’s cold outside
6.  Bananarama
7.  Snowflakes
8.  Raspberry Beret
9.  Old Man Winter
10.  Help me, I’m Melting, I’m Melting!

Topic: Christine Pic: Rebecca R.

Waiting For Spring (A Villanelle)

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Waiting For Spring (A Villanelle)

Sweet sentient beings of the sky

Rustling about in the hedgerow,

Waiting for spring… to dream, to fly.

A cool wind whispers as clouds roll by,

Telling tales they already know,

Sweet sentient beings of the sky.

Heed the call of the lonely magpie

Through the valley, soft voices echo,

Waiting for spring… to dream, to fly.

Cardinals flock and chickadees cry,

Seeking comfort in haven of snow,

Sweet sentient beings of the sky.

Dancers in the wings, crows go awry,

Stirring up horses in a meadow

Waiting for spring… to dream, to fly.

Rest little ones, morning is nigh.

The stars will guide you as you go.

Sweet sentient beings of the sky,

Waiting for spring… to dream, to fly.

January 7, 2015

The Finish Line

KONICA MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERA — Photo Courtesy Morgue File © 2015

The Finish Line

Clouds hang overhead
geese crowd the banks
when the rain starts to fall
the farmer gives thanks.

The harvest has passed
with bountiful yields
winter is fast coming
there’s frost in the fields.

Feel the push of the wind
and the bite of the cold
his skin etched with time
bones fragile and old.

But the sky won’t snow
and the sun won’t shine
no more walks in the wood
at the finish line.

See the colors dissolving
in the cold steely sky
as he crosses the threshold
with one last mournful sigh.

Amiss

Amiss

Treacherous winds blow
Cold drifts in a field of snow
Dreams of long ago

Something is amiss
I need more in life than this
Searching for true bliss

As the seasons change
Leaves strip away, rearrange
O’er the mountain range

Giving up the fight
Anguish deep in the black night
Dark spirit take flight

Hopes and dreams combust
As my ashes turn to dust
And silent tears rust

Angel, take me far
To a waiting distant star
Free of hurt and scars

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.

Tag Archives: snow

Promise of the Rose

My Christmas Spirit

Spring Equinox

Touch the Alabaster Skies

Bells on Christmas Eve

At First Frost

Waiting For Spring (A Villanelle)

The Finish Line

Amiss

Shenandoah National Park – Colleen Breuning © 2015

Amiss

Those Were The Days

Those Were The Days