Hawk Circles

Sharp cries ring out across the sky
white feathers fly, then fall
the death defying scene plays on
for some, but not for all.

Mushroom Musings

Words to live by

When deciding

whether to

or whether not

to eat a mushroom

that’s not store bought

Rule of thumb,

stay away from red

don’t be dumb

or you may be dead

--- Fred Brown © 2013

A Mushroom Undertaking

A most deadly occurrence

you will find with assurance

if a taste of the fungus

you crave

Without careful observance

and some expert concurrence

there's not one among us

that brave

So let us use common sense

forego all foolish pretense

or those mushrooms will buy us

our grave

-- Fred Brown  ©2013

Sunday Best

caps and bonnets

smooth and rough

fine as sonnets

soft as fluff

dots and stripes 

and plain vanilla

dressed to kill

if you dare taste a little

-- Fred Brown © 2013

Love and Lipstick

Killer Lipstick

Hope burns

Lips stick

Kisses kill

Glasses clink

Bubbles die

Tears pour

Hope fades

Love lies

Duplicity

Love lies softly

  in the quiet stream

    with promises it never means

      to keep, and goes on flowing

Ode to the Sea Palm

Postelsia and me
have a thing for the sea
though one of us holds it more dearly

It can sway to and fro
and never lets go
we dance, but we do it discretely

 Images by Chuck Bancroft

Bird Island Paradise

A pilgrimage to a place to
face the wide and endless sea
the world at my back while
watching the cool translucent
waters below sparkle heavenly
rising pelicans glide in formation
soaring on the wind
with little effort
I take a step as night herons
barely visible on unapproachable cliffs
stand stone still and wait
while I catch my breath
once more
pain melts into the horizon
unfurling then fading as fog
blankets and blurs
the mind
remembers what it had lost
and found again 
in this sanctuary

Narrow Binding

Burned so as not to offend

views that differed

and could not bend

to hear a voice

to spark

a choice.

Tribute to Ray Bradbury

Seal Song

I asked the mottled harbor seal to take a walk with me

there are so many things out here, I’d love for you to see

cities gleaming in the sun, fine friends for company,

some lovely spots where you and I could stop to pour some tea

and take some time to talk about our common ancestry.

Resting on a sunlit rock, 

he merely yawned at me

raised his head and seemed to talk, 

Why not come and follow me?

Then he simply smiled and winked, and slipped into the sea.

Come swim with me, far from your shore

his forlorn eyes implored.

We’ll chase the fish and toss and flip

there’s castles to explore.

For if you wait, my siren song will fade and never more

Will you and I, meet eye to eye, upon the ocean shore.

Soon you’ll find that man is blind, and this will be no more.

I stood upon the silent shore

as he swam out to sea.

I’ll never go, and never know,

though he keeps calling me.

--- Fred Brown, BSP

© 2012