Saturday, April 28, 2018

The Path of Pain NAPOWRIMO April 28, 2018


NAPOWRIMO April 28, 2018

The Path of Pain

A line drawn through nerves
electrical sensations that course
with lightning speed to the brain
cascading back along the same path
recharging at the source.

©2018 Noreen Braman


Monday, April 23, 2018

Thoughts After a 9/11 Memorial 5k NAPOWRIMO 4-23-18


Photo ©2018 Noreen Braman www.noreensdigitaldreams.com
Thoughts After a 9/11 Memorial 5k

Cushioned socks and sneakers
to take me 3.2 miles
on a clear sky, sunny day
to remember.

Staircases descended by those in fear
staircases ascended by the calm and brave
all who expected to see sunrise the next day
are remembered.

Upward looks take in the new building
far gazes behold Liberty
internally, visions of dust and debris
swirl in the mist of remembrance.

Walking in the shadows of restoration
much more that the raising of skyscrapers
powerless to raise the dead
the rebuilding of life is the duty
to memory.

©2018 Noreen Braman

Monday, April 16, 2018

The Sherperd's Tree NAPOWRIMO April 16, 2018


NAPOWRIMO April 16, 2018

The Shepherd’s Tree


As far as a Redwood reaches into the sky,
the Shepherd’s Tree sends down its roots,
supporting and nourishing all that rises above
that in turn supports and nourishes
the wildlife under its branches.

This is the tree to grow family on,
strong, resilient and firmly rising
From a deeply planted heritage.

©2018 Noreen Braman

Sunday, April 15, 2018

The State of Things NAPOWRIMO April 15, 2018


NAPOWRIMO April 15, 2018

The State of Things

True Jersey girl
moods parallel the weather,
one day warm and sunny
Next day freezing rain.
One week sporting
boardwalk bravado,
another spent stalled
in the traffic of uncertainty.
Driven between bright city lights
and pastoral green fields,
working to integrate
Jersey’s split personalities
into a cohesive state of mind.

©2018 Noreen Braman

Friday, April 13, 2018

Under the Bridge NAPOWRIMO April 12, 2018



NAPOWRIMO April 12, 2018
 
Under the Bridge

The 12-foot bridge will not be moved
no matter how many trucks you slam into her.
She has carried trains upon her back
since the days of wagons and horses.
Her stone edifice resists weather and
silently endures the indignity of graffiti
while watching walkers and bicyclists
pass under her arches unimpeded.
The 12-foot bridge, and all her sisters,
stand resolute against the changing times
and will not be moved
no matter what wheeled conveyances
assault them.

©2018 Noreen Braman


Thursday, April 12, 2018

Faking It or Making It NAPOWRIMO April 11, 2018


NAPOWRIMO 2018 April 11, 2018

Faking It, Or Making It

The imposter can speak with authority
having read and studied and listened and written,
learned how to charm and smile at a roomful,
turning metaphoric cartwheels if necessary
to generate approval.
Yet
The imposter lies awake many nights
having seen and heard and felt and suffered,
learned that deep inside is dishonesty
turning spasmodically in the brain
to generate unworthiness.
Yet
Is being an imposter real or imagined,
And will they all ever find out? 

©2018 Noreen Braman

So Funny, The Author and I Must be Twins - Oh EBWW, I Miss You So

NANOPOWRIMO 2018 taking a little break

Yes, I am still in Poetry Month land, trying to indulge the lyrical, beret-wearing part of me. But someone shared this column on Twitter. The author is a member of the Erma Bombeck Writers Workshop, an organization's whose sells-out-in-five-minutes conference I was so very fortunate to attend some years back. Years before that, I wrote for something called "Housewife Writers Forum" that gave awards for the "Best Imitation Erma Bombeck story." I wasn't too keen on the "Housewife Writer" part, but loved the idea of continuing the women's humor genre. I even just bought "Laugh Out Loud," an anthology of humor writing by writers in the EBWW (yes I am so jealous! and proud! 40 women writers included!) 

Reading this kind of hilarious work reminds me of my love for Shirley Jackson, who, best known for horror, was Erma before there was Erma. (And seriously, how blurry is the line between humor and horror! Think of what has happened with clowns lately!) So, please enjoy this essay by Dorothy Rosby, (linked below the photo) who was looking in my windows, FOR SURE.



Tuesday, April 10, 2018

D Sign (NAPOWRIMO April 10, 2018)


NAPOWRIMO April 10, 2018

D Sign


When the coach flashed the D sign
my pitching arm better be warm
And ready to retire the side
3 up, 3 down.
Not to get battered
pitching into disaster
my rotator cuff on fire.

Stepping up to the plate
I don’t think about my average
just facing down the fastball.
Out of the park
or hard bounce in the infield
whatever brings the run home.

Getting the D sign isn’t a game
homeruns expected daily
that’s what happens
when you make the choice
to compete as
a D-signer.

©2018 Noreen Braman


This one is for you, AIGA

Monday, April 9, 2018

The Escape Plan (for all co-conspirators) NAPOWRIMO April 9, 2018


NAPOWRIMO April 9, 2018

The Escape Plan
for all co-conspirators


No literal, but plenty of virtual digging
hoping to strike metaphorical gold
that pays in actual currency
providing lift over a nebulous rainbow
that exists neither in the here nor there.
It remains in the realm of possibility
an aspirational deliverance
into the hands of Fortune.

©2018 Noreen Braman

Sunday, April 8, 2018

Birth Day (NAPOWRIMO April 7, 2018


NAPOWRIMO April 7, 2018



Birth Day



What threads join the Crucifixion to the Internet,

tie themselves to William Wordsworth,

Marjory Stoneman Douglas and John Tully,

winding around the Battle of Shiloh

the age of television,

and the untying of Prohibition?

Too much unbound violence

woven throughout history,
yet stars glow brightly

in one day’s tapestry 
knitted forever to me.

©2018 Noreen Braman

Friday, April 6, 2018

Gone (NAPOWRIMO April 6, 2018)


NAPOWRIMO April 6, 2018

Gone

Thirty years for two
sixty three years for one
multiple lifetimes passed,
and still no understanding
of what it all meant
or where it all went
only one certainty,
more years have passed
than are left.

©2018 Noreen Braman

Thursday, April 5, 2018

A Cosmic Question (NAPOWRIMO April 4, 2018)



NAPOWRIMO April 4, 2018

A Cosmic Question

A black hole is like the Bermuda triangle,
things go in but never come out
except of course one is a triangle
in the ocean, not in space
and we can’t see it from above
can’t test it for mass
or measure its gravitational pull.
Light doesn’t bend around it
there isn’t more than one,
no groups of Bermuda Triangles
orbiting around each other
that we know of.
I wanted to ask Stephen Hawking
at least to generate his smile,
but our worlds never transited
anywhere near each other
and now the only way would be
through a bend
in the space time continuum.

 ©2018 Noreen Braman

 

Tuesday, April 3, 2018

Mission & Vision as found poetry (NAPOWRIMO April 3, 2018)

Mission and Vision
as found poetry

Living on
the smile side of life
by
enhancing well being 
through sharing laughter 
for the health of it,
in a world in which 
the universal language of laughter
is a daily part
of improved health, 
happiness,
and well being,
because
I shall not go gently,
but go laughing.

©2018 Noreen Braman

Monday, April 2, 2018

The Year of Nine (NAPOWRIMO April 2, 2018)


April 2, 2018



The Year of Nine





The times table secret

Turns me nine again

to pursue the symbolism

inherent in a number

that hides in its own product,

denotes judgment in

biblical numerology,

or maybe patience

or spiritual gifts.

A numeral with multiplied meanings,

complicated with being mistaken for six,

which is another research rabbit hole

leading to evil incarnate when aligned in triplet. 
                                                             

Dream of it and expect spiritual awakening

or a new path,

visiting nine swords, wands, cups or pentacles

all cheerful in their various hints

of isolation,

like Love Potion #9,

which turns on you in the end.

Truth in Hebrew,

Lucky in China,

Unlucky in Japan,

The number of Brahma,

The lives of a cat,

All numeric contemplations

For this, my year of nine.





©2018 Noreen Braman