-
In homage to the forestIts heavy shadowsDeep and darkGreener than green,even when the sun is brightand the begonias bloom deep red.Bits of grass, spindly and fine, grow around the river of moss in dotsLike cattails before they’re cutThe bells of the foxglove ring and ring and ringWhen the air moves soft electric Blue Morning glories…
-
I’m learning what will grow, and what will grow successfully.
-
Her leopard, high heeled mules sure footed in the gravel.
-
Of course there was glitter.
-
It looked like somebody made wedding bouquets and needed my blue and white bloomers.
-
The sound started there
-
Doesn’t my interpretation of the painting count? Isn’t it supposed to be a hanging Rorshact test?
-
I ran away from home a couple of times. Once after college I went to Texas for no good reason. The last time with a man to England, half an hour from Stonehenge. We had to get married. I was pregnant. I won’t do that again. I came back. I am the same person I…
-
That Time My Hair
I never had a problem with my hair, but Mom was always messing with it. She never let me grow it long because “I couldn’t take care of it.” Truth was, she didn’t want to take care of it and said I was too lazy and inept to handle it, qualities I’ve fought off my… Read more
-
Not the Same
IT’S DIFFERENT written by: Devonne Brown published by SpillWords, January 19, 2023 @athesaurus1 The quiet is different this morning.Its timbre has a breadth, a substanceI hadn’t noticed before.The quiet when the boys slept was full of their dreamsThis emptiness is hard. It supersedes noisefrom the TVthat deafens the background silence.It shatters then evaporates like it… Read more
-
Waning Xmas
This Week The end of Christmas, the end of the semester, parent conferences, the end of winter break. Parents signed up to be able to tell the teacher how cool their kids were. Endless talk about their kids. They didn’t care about behavior or academics. They wanted to tell us, their teachers, all about their… Read more
-
Holiday Fruit Salad
Thanksgiving is about fruit salad. Forget the birds and big gourds, even the shellfish and breadcrumbs. It’s all about the fruit. When Dad was little, his dad would make this incredible fruit salad during the holidays. When you’re from Clay county WV, that fruit salad is a gourmet delight. Grapes, bananas, mandarin oranges, fruit cocktail,… Read more
-
Flu and Cold Season
Getting old has symptoms. Stuff I’d always made jokes about in people are really true. Losing hair, eyesight, and teeth aren’t funny things that happen, but do. I’ve always been a list maker and note taker. Memory loss may or may not occur, I don’t know. What I need to remember, I do. The power… Read more
-
The Plan
“I’ve got a plan,” said Norris. He looked around the room until his eyes found the dog. It was a poodle, a big brown one. In the poodle world it had several names: German Water Retriever, Standard Poodle, Brown Abstract Poodle, Spoo, Soup Hound, West Virginia Brown Dog, Opal Pearl. Madam, the saddle back, black… Read more
-
In homage to the forestIts heavy shadowsDeep and darkGreener than green,even when the sun is brightand the begonias bloom deep red.Bits of grass, spindly and fine, grow around the river of moss in dotsLike cattails before they’re cutThe bells of the foxglove ring and ring and ringWhen the air moves soft electric Blue Morning glories…
-
I’m learning what will grow, and what will grow successfully.
-
Her leopard, high heeled mules sure footed in the gravel.
-
Of course there was glitter.
-
It looked like somebody made wedding bouquets and needed my blue and white bloomers.
-
The sound started there
-
Doesn’t my interpretation of the painting count? Isn’t it supposed to be a hanging Rorshact test?
-
I ran away from home a couple of times. Once after college I went to Texas for no good reason. The last time with a man to England, half an hour from Stonehenge. We had to get married. I was pregnant. I won’t do that again. I came back. I am the same person I…
-
Interrupting Birdsong
I asked for the time, but the darkness didn’t answer. I rolled out of bed, and walked down the hall to the kitchen. The clock on the stove said 3:00 a.m., so why not make coffee and enjoy the quiet of the morning? Listen to the songbirds and the breathing of the sleeping humans in…
-
Sanctuary
All day I will talk nonsense. I will repeat a paragraph eight times in a day. I will point out its main idea, drag it out, make people paste it in a book, and read it back to me. I will pass out little pieces of paper with vocabulary words on them and glue bottles,…
-
Morning Curtain
Snow laden limbs are replaced by blossoms falling to earth and flowers push up from underneath. Early snowdrops and daffodils show off their color peek from recent fresh green. Wet brown earth gives way to the promise of gardens, of deep green shadows and tomatoes Something more than squirrels digging through dried leaves. The smell…
-
The Road Trip
The road trip was a mindset. It required no preparation or preparation of all things, especially the house before the departure. After I took care of the laundry, the cats, the mess, and the packing, I was ready to roll down the road. Time was not of the essence on a road trip. Stops were…
Devonne Brown 