NAPOWRIMO 2014 April 25, 2014

Heirloom

a mother’s heart is
a patchwork quilt
of captured moments
stitched together with
threads of memory.
bright squares of joy
full of laughter and smiles,
tattered places worn thin
by the wiping of many tears.
Encircled by lace knit of
dreams both fulfilled and denied,
creating a haphazard pattern
woven with the textiles of life.

©2014 Noreen Braman

NAPOWRIMO 2014 April 24

Pompeii


They had no word for volcano
and no oral history or mythology
about the mountain that
overshadowed them
and the tremors that
shook their town.
Even when the smoke
began to rise
it was a matter
of curiosity rather than
concern
even when ash rained down
they stayed
under roof, under shelter,
under ground.
Realizing too late
utter destruction had come
with the searing heat
that struck them
where they stood
and buried them as they died
with arms outstretched
and feet in motion
with babies in arms
and silver in pockets.

©2014 Noreen Braman

NAPOWRIMO 2014 April 23

SOMNIPHOBIA

Soft warmth awaits
but she knows the truth,
silken pillows tempt
her to close her eyes.
Bedding that smells of
fresh laundering
beckon her lie down.
But she knows the truth,
the winding sheets
the enclosing shroud
the darkness deeper than night.
The morning sun grows dimmer,
the birdsong farther away
the struggle for life gets harder
with each trip into sleep.

©2014 Noreen Braman

NAPOWRIMO 2014 April 22

Future Dreaming, Present Tense

Once on a Brooklyn street
I looked into the sun
and imagined my life
in the year 2000.
How far away
and futuristic
the world would be,
like the '64 World’s Fair
that I never went to,
but influenced
my fantasies
of rockets and flying cars
and mechanical wonders
powered by atoms.
How old I would be!
How easy my life!
Now 14 years past
I am tethered to my smartphone
make my living with computers
and pilot spaceships in my dreams.

©2014 Noreen Braman

NAPOWRIMO 2014 April 21

Calendar Prayer

Oh many-faceted god of time
who rules my every movement
appearing to me in many forms
paper pocket planner,
networked program of days,
tiny screen of smart phone,
I appeal to you, keep me on track
guide me with your incessant reminders,
notices, bings and chirps,
and grant me the temerity
to give you offerings of my schedule
in as timely a way as you
give them back to me,
otherwise your good works
are all for naught
and I miss another appointment.


©2014 Noreen Braman

NAPOWRIMO 2014 April 20

Easter 2014

holiday dinner
the clan gathers
now three generations.
traditional food
new savory dishes,
sports, politics,
and baby care.
Naps gratefully
embraced by
elders,
and fought off
by babies,
screaming in
protest.
Sights and sounds
and smells and tastes
the touch of love
as life goes on.

©2014 Noreen Braman

NAPOWRIMO 2014 April 19

Here is a Spring Poem/Poster from a few years ago.