Category: Uncategorized

My Morning Do . . . What Would You Do?

~~ by tkbrown

4 December 2020 — What would be your response–action, reaction, non-action, somewhere in between–if you came home from work and when you walked into the area accentuated by the Christmas tree, found it to be graced by a new decoration–oddly enough, a marsupial? I could not help but do a double-take when I saw the picture of the newly decorated Christmas tree.

A woman in southern Australia did just that. She walked in to find a local marsupial clinging to her Christmas tree. In fact, it was such an unusual occurrence as to cause the local 1-300koalaz line to think it was a prank call. Not so, this call. When she arrived home, she found a real live koala to be the newest decoration on her Christmas tree. If you would like to read the article and see the picture, click this url: Koala found in Australian Christmas tree – CNN – CNN.com www.cnn.com › koala-christmas-tree-australia-scli-intl. It makes an interesting read.

Upon realizing the call was a genuine request for assistance with a koala on the Christmas tree, the organization responded, removed the marsupial to a locale more suited to its lifestyle while still allowing it to interact with humans in a safe environment.

The report on CNN went on to note a common error people make when referring to the coala as a “bear.” The koala is a marsupial rather than a bear. Marsupials are mammals which carry their young in a pouch on the mother’s abdomen. It is birthed in a stage of development requiring protection which allows continued development for some time yet. Australia seems to be a preferred homeland for marsupials. Interestingly enough, North America (north of Mexico) is home to only one species of marsupial–the opossum.

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Source:

Guy, Jack. (3 December 2020). Koala found in Australian Christmas tree. CNN. Microsoft news on msn.com. (3 December 2020). http://www.cnn.com › koala-christmas-tree-australia-scli-intl.

Eds. Wikipedia. (1 December 2020). Marsupials. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Powered by MediaWiki. (4 December 2020). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marsupial.

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Photo Above: by ellicia @ Unsplash.com.

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Calendar Quindecims — December 2020

~~ by tkbrown
December is moving in fast,
and Thanksgiving is barely past--
or, is it? Travel, families,
Black Friday fare--those online venues--
shopping with masks, social distance--
greatly reduced deals, now's your chance!
Buy now, pay later--give better
for Christmas than ever before.
Material flare--girls and boys
each year get more expensive toys.
This year will be no different,
I'm sure--packages and love sent
to those afar off. Would I could
be there with you--for now we should
be thankful for the things we have
and for the family to love.
God, please send it o'er air by dove!

My Morning Do . . . Inspiration

~~ by tkbrown

20 November 2020

The Written Word

The night is all around
as it seems to wrap itself
about my soul . . .

a security blanket of sorts
keeping the unwanted out
and filtering in

that which is welcomed with
wholehearted abandon, a muse
of the written word.

I look inward, toward the words
waiting to be shared with
the world this day,

and putting pen to paper
I create something, anything
of import and hue.

Once created, I give it
some time to breathe
before viewing it

to edit and tweak
until it seemeth a clue
worthy to share

as it reveals to you
a bit of the "what" and "who"
that maketh me.

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Sometimes, the words within just seem to flow from me, through the pen and onto the paper without any effort on my part. These are the times when writing is pure joy and inspiration. These are the times when I am amazed at the finished product, usually completed in a matter of minutes. These are truly what I believe the muse considers to be, “My Morning Do” . . . tidbits to be shared with those who can appreciate the meaning behind the creation, the feeling behind the words, the “want to” behind the need to put pen to paper.

And so, this is today’s “My Morning Do” . . . I share it now with you in the hopes that you might see a little bit of you in these words that share a little bit of me.

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Photo Above: by Duo Chen @ Unsplash.com.

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Thanksgiving 2020

Thanksgiving 2020

a quindecim triad
~~ by tkbrown ~~
As Thanksgiving Day approaches our minds reflect
upon those things for which we can be thankful.
This year, in particular, as we attempt to deflect
some of the year's more unpleasant, distasteful
aspects recently passed, perhaps our thought
might linger on those very things we would rather
forget. The coronavirus, for instance, has wrought
havoc on the entire world, and still it grows . . . stronger.
Many have lost loved ones as it ravaged our homes,
our lives, our nations, our world. Has it beleaguered
our universe too? Our losses seem greater in domes
fabricated by the quarantines and other featured
components of our lives. Can we see--e'en for a moment
that we are blessed to be alive and able to ruminate
and to formulate gratitude in the losses we repudiate.

E'en through the unpleasant times and events
occurring throughout the year, our world has paused
to focus upon giving medical care in hospital tents
erected by the armed forces, necessitated and caused
by a desire to save lives. In countries large and small,
pharmaceutical teams have hovered over petri dishes,
laboring hours upon end, striving to answer the call
for vaccine and treatment options to grant wishes
and supply clinical trials. The scientific world
pulls together, competing to be the frontrunner
in this race with death after being hurled
headfirst into a wall toward which time's gunner
attempts to take away more precious lives.
Children are losing parents, and husbands are losing wives,
hospitals are losing the battle in which each strives.

As we approach this special Day of Thanksgiving,
I implore the world to join with us in prayer--
bowed heads and humble hearts of the living.
While we collectively ask for strength to care
about the needs of those who are hurting,
and join together in prayers of uplifting praise,
offering thanks for the resources relieving
limitations on production, mending the frays
of education, entertainment, and self-care.
Technology, far more advanced than ever before,
has opened doors and built bridges o'er
land and sea to bring a hurting world together.
Let us bow our heads in a world-wide prayer
thanking God for bringing us together
and for the support we receive from each other.

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Photo Above: by Tom Barret @ Unsplash.com.

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Calendar Quindecims – November 2020

~~ by tkbrown
November brings election day
with voter's choice in government.
Who will be chosen president?
Representatives holding sway
these four years past will be informed--
with each vote cast--the view now held
as constituents vote to say
just how goes home and who shall stay.
Along with senators to be felled,
satisfaction for service--now
renowned--by all will be made known.
Some will boast smiles while others frown
as the message sent reveals how
the next four years will now take form.
All will have cast votes for the norm:
will it be new or seats kept warm?

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Photo Above: from pixabay.com.

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The Extra Hour

~~ by tkbrown
Now finding ourselves in the beauty of fall
as Old Jack Frost ponders, propels a call,
Old Father Time sputters a bit,

finds the hour lost in spring is a fit--
filling the sputter occurring now
as Old Jack Frost to time doth bow.

Wakening early from habit, but seeming not
as bio clock adjustments are sought
but incomplete, leaves us a void

in time and thought, ne'er enjoyed.
Circadian rhythm bereft, not yet replete,
swaying left and veering right

attempting to level, align the glide--
but depleting, tossing that hour aside--
its enjoyment lost

midst the effort spent to reorient
mind and body in time and space,
renewing the voyage with seeming grace.

By the time the body reconciles,
it has physically and mentally traversed miles
beyond enjoyment of the hour refitted

by Old Father Time on a journey committed
to one and all--a juggling of that hour betwixt
Spring and Fall--enjoyed daylight predicts.

Sleeping away the hour saved
ensures 'twill never be extolled or raved
midst talks of 'past' in future days.

Ne'er can be told of bright sunrays
casting vim and vigor upon paths chosen
to be trod with life and limb beholden.

So, choose ye well the spending of your time,
awakened or sleeping in a surreal mime
of what might have been

in that undisturbed hour -- but then . . .
either way, if ye spend it well
there will be a tale to tell.

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Photo Above: copyright Shutterstock.com.

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Calendar Quindecims — October 2020

by tkbrown

October arrived late this year, it seems;
So too, have school, sports teams, and myriad gleams
quite often seen 'midst colorful backdrops--
this year, road-trips limited to short hops
taken close to home in a one-day glint.
Rise up early, bleary-eyed, just a hint
of sunlight beyond distant shoulder--
flatland does not provide much bold color--
the beauty of such is ne'er beholden',
bright yellows, reds, crimsons, orange, and brown
when early nips from visits by Jack Frost
paint the scenery sought each fall by most.
Those early nights when temperature dips
give a foliage scene--brightly colored tips--
where untold leaves spout-off with sassy quips.

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Photo Above: by KRiemer on pixabay.com.

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My Morning Do . . . On a Barren Shore

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Just a Note: by tkbrown

Since we are also looking at the grieving process midst all the suffering from so many different sources, I decided to share with you today this poem. I penned it 4 November 2018, but it covers many concerns in our societal grieving process. It seems, we see a few days of reprieve, and then it starts all over again. As I mentioned a few mornings ago, society addresses the same concerns as individuals, it is just multiplied many times over because individuals, families, communities, regions, economies, countries, and the world are all grieving at the same time. So, I deemed it appropriate to share it this morning because so much grief can make everything and everyplace seem like a Barren Shore.

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. . . On a Barren Shore

~~ by tkbrown
I see your suffering,
understand that your pain is deep
as the ocean and wide as the universe,
that it holds your soul captive
midst the struggles of life.
It stifles your heart song,
makes even small inclines steep;
the best of days stretch forth -- an unending curse
cast with punishing missive,
stuffed with ripples of strife.
Making weakness seem strong,
the waves that powerfully creep
in from some deep untimely soulful immerse
as nauseous retchings that grieve
wounds like a sharp-edged knife.

If my understanding
can lessen the depth of your pain,
gladly will I cover the highest sharpest peak --
my body a shield to ward
off such murk from the moor.
Such inept grappling
I offer as shelter from rain,
saturating clefts of hiding, when dark hours sneak
to sharpen and hone the shard
hacking your inner core.
Still, it's an offering
of my heart, to lessen the stain
wrought by the effort to be strong when weak
due to loss that leaves one marred,
scarred -- on a barren shore.

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Photo Above: by pen_ash at pixabay.com.

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My Morning Do . . . 17 September 2020

The Supernova

~~ by tkbrown
The path to somewhere comes out of nowhere,
curves out of sight up beyond yonder bend.
Perchance twill meet a worthy source out there
with whom to ponder just how we got here
and destination just out past Land's End.

Perhaps there will be a quaint launching pad
from whence to be flung past each orbital
rung, far outpacing mechanical cad
where stars procreate amongst ironclad
components of every known mineral.

Out where the white dwarf stars dance side by side
until one pulls too hard, with a great 'kaboom'--
a new supernova's elemental glide
casts heavy metals in universe-wide
spectacular view--chemical mushroom.

This luminous dispersal from the core
of a massive star in nuclear fusion
or gravitational combustion for
white dwarf collapse with outside forces more
than internal mass--remnant explosion.

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Photo Above: by Alex K 83 @pixabay.com.

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Just a Note: by tkbrown

The cosmos, with all its mystery, is an uncharted frontier yet to be explored. Will man ever truly know all that makes these uncharted spaces, or will it be like studies of the human brain in which we have found: “The more we know–the more we know we don’t know.”

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‘Old Souls’

~~ a Sonnet ~~

~~ by tkbrown
All of us are 'old souls' at heart--sometimes
--when we tire of tuning out mem'ry chimes
from days gone by when hearts and souls were young
with dreams where 'old souls' upon hopes were hung.
Our drift in night mist yields fleeting coup d'oeil.
Fetching rumination: "What is the deal?"
These souls--now old--wafting solo concept
of youthful observance fleetingly kept.
Just when we think we have accepted age,
up canters a grandchild--modern-day sage--
strumming and singing on our private stage;
reviving mem'ries from 'young souls' of yore
as magical wings proffer buoyant core
envisioning dreams, aspirations soar.

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Photo Above: freeimages.com

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