sun – Colleen Keller Breuning

Cool Blue Water

Cool Blue Water

Hope springs eternal in my heart
Ever ready for a fresh start
A place for dreams and reverie
Where cool blue water waits for me.

Give me the splendid silent sun
As bees and flowers come undone
Running through fields of green, so free
Where cool blue water waits for me.

Drifting down in the aqueduct
I vow my life to reconstruct
I accept time absolutely
Where cool blue water waits for me.

Hope springs eternal in my heart,
Where cool blue water waits for me.

Colleen Keller Breuning © 2023
January 28, 2023

Hello! A late post again, and y’all know why….. Work, work, work! That’s all I do! You know the old saying. The overtime at work has been crazy this month, and I’ve barely had time for anything else. There is so much for us to push out in the month of January it is insane. I’ve been logging 20-30 hours of OT every week this month. I think I already wrote that last week. But just THREE MORE DAYS until things ease up. We are an amazing team, we’ve got this. *BREATHE DEEP*

I have gotten so much done and learned so much this past month. I really love my work, and definitely enjoy serving our clients at my accounting firm. It has been such a tremendous experience! But you know the saying “All work and no play makes Jack a dull, dull boy.” (I think that is from The Shining, one of the best movies!) Yes, that’s kind of how I feel this month. DULL, lol. Dan and I are both so busy that we have not done one social thing all month – except go to a holiday work event, which was very nice indeed! I have worked every single day, including weekends, this month except New Year’s Day. The overtime pay has been nice, but I’m ready to at least get my weekends back.

I started writing this last Sunday, but then got super busy and did not get back to it until this evening. I really miss writing more often and especially reading my fellow blogger’s blogs. I feel guilty about that, even though they probably understand – if not, please bear with me during this season. I miss photography. I miss going to a winery on weekends. I miss seeing my family and friends. I miss Face Timing with the grandkids more.

But it’s all good. Life is good. I actually have two outings planned for next weekend – woo hoo! I don’t really have anything else to say. I wish you all a wonderful weekend, and hope you stay warm. Sending love to y’all.

xoxo Colleen

Mood: Sleepy
Inspiration: “The Water Diviner” by Ludovico Einaudi

Ecrits Blogophilia Week 30.14 Topic: Hope Springs Eternal
Hard Bonus: Use a line or quote by Walt Whitman (“Give me the splendid silent sun” and “I accept time absolutely”)
Easy Bonus: Include an aqueduct

Autumn Girl

Autumn Girl

Dawn
peeks out
blooming bold
crimson and gold
the season’s new girl
she is naughty and nice
and everything pumpkin spice
her sweet smile reflecting sunlight
she dances on wispy clouds of white
floating through in skies of cornflower blue.
she has found the secret to happiness,
to be awake is to be alive
to embrace beauty and to thrive
basking in October sun
bees buzzing in chill air
scent of cinnamon
in silken hair
my sassy
autumn
girl

Colleen Keller Breuning © 2022
October 28, 2022

Another quick write on the road! This one is a fun double etheree, kind of like putting together a word puzzle. I was thinking of my daughter Katie as I wrote it, as she is an October girl. ❤

We are having such a wonderful vacation in Florida, and I haven’t had time to be online much at all. The weather has been sunny, beautiful and very pleasant (though hot at times.) The evening spent at the home of our BFFS Marianne and Brian was wonderful. Disney World with the grandchildren Posie and Hatcher was just so much fun! Lots of wonderful memories made there with the kids. It was so heartwarming to see them meet their favorite Disney characters and watch the parades. We were able to hit 3 of the parks: Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and Epcot. There are a lot of new rides and attractions, as it’s been about 11 years since I was last there. I would have to say that the new Guardians of the Galaxy was the biggest hit. We experienced such an adrenaline rush that afterwards, Dan and I both tripped on the stairs coming down off the ride! Thankfully no injuries sustained from that, but what a weird feeling.

And finally, we are chilling at Vince and Natalie’s home for the rest of the weekend. We did a little fishing this morning, and this afternoon we’re just hanging at their house and relaxing in the sun. It’s a really nice way to end a busy and amazing road trip. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

xoxo
Colleen

Blogophilia Week 17.14
Topic: Everything Pumpkin Spice
Hard Bonus: Use a line or quote by Henry David Thoreau – “To be awake is to be alive.”
Easy Bonus: Include a “new girl”

Beneath the Harvest Moon

Beneath the Harvest Moon

Autumn fires burn in golden sun
October hues have come undone.
As catbird sings his mournful tune,
I wait beneath the harvest moon.

Whisked on the wind, leaves are falling.
Feel the chill of winter calling.
Love comes not a moment too soon,
I wait beneath the harvest moon.

Your lips taste of cabernet wine,
Sending chills running down my spine.
Craving your touch that makes me swoon,
I wait beneath the harvest moon.

Autumn fires burn in golden sun,
I wait beneath the harvest moon.

Colleen Keller Breuning © 2022
October 21, 2022

Just a quick write while we’re on the road to Florida! We made it all the way to Savannah, Georgia last night. Today we drive a few hours to stay the night with my BFF Marianne & Brian at The Villages. We’ll check out the town and have dinner, always a good time! Then Sunday, on to Disney World to meet Katie, Brenton, Posie and Hatcher for a fabulous time in Disney World! After that, we spend a few days with Vince and Natalie and do some relaxing and fishing.

Rather than drive the whole boring I-95 corridor down to Florida, we started our trip on I-81 and I-77 through Virginia, NC and South Carolina. The colors were spectacular, even though I was driving during the most beautiful part in southern VA/North Carolina! Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend!!

Xoxo Colleen

Week 16.14 Harvest Moon
Hard Bonus: Include your favorite song title – “Come Undone” by Duran Duran
Easy Bonus: Mention Fire

Water Lilies

Water Lilies

Late
summer
pale blue skies

Wings
flitting
dragonflies

Dew
gathers
lily blooms

Air
filling
sweet perfume

Pale
yellow
floating free

Frogs
gloating
summer spree

Sun
blazing
crystal sparks

Light
fading
into dark

Moon
beckons
rising high

Stars
twinkling
velvet night

Buds
closing
until morn

Day
ending
hope reborn

Colleen Keller Breuning © 2022
August 13, 2022

This is just a little ditty that I was playing around with that resulted in a simplistic imagery poem. It started with the title “Water Lilies” and morphed from there. The structure was the 3 line stanza composition with syllable of 1-2-3 and a rhyme scheme with the last line of two stanzas matching throughout. I couldn’t find any name for this, maybe I invented it….but I doubt it! If any of you poets out there know a term for this format, please let me know. I love experimenting with the rhyme and structure of the different poetry forms.

As always, I am truly inspired by all things in nature (as well as music)! So much beauty to behold in summer, and it’s hard to believe it is already mid-August. I guess this is my way of trying to hold onto these long, lazy summer days a little longer, or to at least have some memories to revisit during cold winter days. Enjoy the rest of your summer!

xoxo Colleen

“Time Forgotten” by Brian Crain & Rita Chepurchenko

Broken Clouds

Broken Clouds

Ashen gray clouds
hang low to the ground
a thick layer of fog
rising like dense smoke
infusing the atmosphere
with its petulant moods.

All I see is alabaster sky.
The moon has gone missing,
the sun hidden in a sempiternal stretch
of colorless stratus, dull like
a bolt of sparkly silver tulle
that has lost its shine.

And I am walking on broken clouds,
knee deep in ambivalence,
rain falling beneath my sodden feet
to the barren earth far below me.

And I thought I heard
the ocean siren call to me,
with her song of hollow promises
echoing against the crash of waves.

The seas have eluded me.
The skies have betrayed me.
The sun has ignored me.
The moon has shunned me.
The clouds have denounced me.

Where do I go now in this netherworld,
in this endless purgatory?
As twilight beckons, shades of indigo
dissipate the broken clouds.

The crescent moon glides by
with a shy smile and thin hopes,
as a vagabond wind transports me home,
an escalator to waiting distant stars.

Colleen Keller Breuning © 2022
January 13, 2022

This idea for this poem was sparked in the Atlanta airport on a recent trip to Florida. As we were walking through the terminal to make our connection, the current weather board sign caught my eye. It simply stated, “Broken Clouds,” and I immediately knew I would write about it. It stuck with me as I scribble scrabbled some words, listening to mood music on our final flight to Florida. It was very cloudy, foggy with a bit of rain and yes…. broken clouds everywhere.

Then this stayed dormant in my notebook due to work commitments, until I finalized it last night. It morphed into this mood piece, after two rainy, gloomy winter days of editing.

Funny how the writing process can be. It’s been a while since I wrote consistently due to travel, holidays and work. I feel out of practice and intend to get back into my weekly writing routine. It is a form of therapy, and I sure do miss it when I can’t find the time to write! Stay warm, everyone.

xoxo
Colleen

Mood: Cloudy
Inspiration: “River of Rain” by Jami Sieber

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

Momentum

Momentum

Fear pulls me downward
sinister thoughts creeping
in corners of my dark mind
gripping tight, talons sharp
as I bleed from the inside out
and rail to the heavens in rage
from the depths of an anguished soul.

Passion pushes me onward
parting a veil of diaphanous desire
satin hush, silken touch
the scent and taste of love
as the glorious sun glows
in effervescent rainbows
shining the light on my path.

Hope coaxes me upward
picking up the broken pieces
scattered amongst wayward leaves
a cool breeze permeates my skin
its soft kiss upon my cheek
determination coursing through my veins
as I break through the force field again.

Momentum carries me forward
out of a forlorn past
through hot burning coals
blistered feet, hot searing pain
leading to a tropical oasis
where I can frolic in the green
cool raindrops upon my tongue.

Colleen Keller Breuning © 2021
November 8, 2021

This post was written for the Instagram group Her Growth Collective @hergrowthcollective. The topic for the week for 11/11/2021 is “Momentum.”

Momentum is defined as the strength or force that something has when it is moving. It is also the strength or force that allows something to continue or to grow stronger or faster as time passes. I believe that the momentum in our lives can be generated both internally and externally. Sometimes we have the energy, desire and impetus to make positive changes in our lives. Other times, we simply roll with the waves and are forced to change, lest we sink and drown.

For me, many things have affected my life’s momentum. Fear, passion and hope are recurring themes that have carried me through and allowed me to change the direction of my life. Reflecting on this topic helped me to write my poem “Momentum” on the plane ride back home from my son’s wedding. Life is good, keep the momentum going!

xoxo Colleen

Mood: Reflective
Inspiration: “Push the Sky Away” by Nick Cave

The Magical Journey

The Magical Journey

Close your eyes, come along with me.
Let’s take a magical journey
To the imagination’s end…
Where we can be real or pretend.

Do what you wish, be what you’ll be;
Close your eyes, come along with me.
Breathe in deep the lavender moon…
Dance with fireflies until you swoon.

Let your mind wander wild and far
Race through the sky on shooting stars
Close your eyes, come along with me…
We shall conquer the galaxy.

Rise up to greet the morning sun,
Embrace life now before it’s gone.
Soar like the eagle, proud and free…
Close your eyes, come along with me.

Colleen Keller Breuning © 2021
October 27, 2021

A Quatern poem written for the group Her Growth Collective, which can be found on Instagram @hergrowthcollective. The topic for 10/28/2021 is “Pretending.”

Sometimes I have to close my eyes and focus in order to pretend. Other times, I just have to let my mind wander. And that is exactly what I did while writing this poem. It’s funny how I always end up looking at the sky, seems to be a recurring theme in my life. I remember that I always wanted to be a bird as a child. In this case, I got steered towards the moon and stars.

Whether you want to pretend or not, the message is we all need to enjoy and embrace life, because it is just way too short. So dance with the fireflies and ride those shooting stars…. starting today!

xoxo

Colleen

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

Tangerine

Tangerine

Sitting at a stoplight
as I look the other way
mosquito on the dashboard
measuring a summer’s day.

Familiar song on the radio
takes me back to the fray
a memory churns slowly
I find it slips away to grey.

One split second hesitation
speeding car, runaway train
thinking of what might have been
the hours they bring me pain.

Blaring horns, obscenities
mouth opens in silent scream
trembling limbs, aftershocks
living reflection from a dream.

Tears fall in gratitude
a near miss, my heart careens
blood pumps furiously in veins
now a thousand years in between.

We pick ourselves up and carry on
breathing deep, minds serene
counting blessings of each day
as the sun sets in blazing tangerine.

Colleen Keller Breuning © 2021
July 5, 2021

We had a very close call one day last week while driving to Publix in Panama City, Florida. As we sat first in line at a stoplight, a speeding SUV blatantly hit the gas and ran through a red light. If it were not for my son-in-law’s intuitive split-second hesitation as the light turned green, that SUV would have certainly slammed us broadside and caused a horrendous accident. The thought of that completely shook me afterward, especially since Posie was in the backseat with my husband.

Certain things stick in your mind as you count and re-count happenings and blessings of the day. Now I will probably always think of this moment when Tangerine plays. But I am grateful that God was watching over us and for some reason, caused Brenton to hesitate at the light. Thank you…. this was one of those reminders that life is truly precious. Please people, be careful and diligent when driving out there. Slow down, and for God’s sake, do not run red lights!!!!!!!!!

One of my favorite Led Zeppelin songs….