DAILY PHOTO: Macaque Family

Family of macaque monkeys on Gudibande Hill in Karnataka, India.
Baby macaque monkey on the rocks atop of Gudibande Hill.
A family of macaque monkeys on Gudibande Fort in the state of Karnataka in India.

PROMPT: Understand One Thing

Daily writing prompt
If you could make your pet understand one thing, what would it be?

How Buddhists reconcile the Doctrine of Anatta (the belief that there is no permanent self) with a belief in reincarnation.

Safety First [Haiku]

Two turtles on a rock surrounded by water.
stony fortress,
moated: turtle stretches neck
out to sniff the air.

Acorn [Senryū]

A squirrel in New Orleans' City Park, eating an acorn on a power pole.
startled squirrel drops
its nut; so sad for it, but
we all get a tree.

Mobile Home [Common Meter]

Turtle exits its hiding place
beneath a rotten log.
Its shell snags on that old, dead wood
he drags the log along.
Does he know that he's double-shelled?
He seems so unaware.
When he breaks free, he gains no speed --
just crawls on like he don't care.

Quiet Bayou [Haiku]

Taken in the Pearl River bayou near Slidell, Louisiana.
quiet bayou:
the odd bird flutters
limb to lonely limb.

Winter Wetlands [Haiku]

A photograph taken in Van de Graaff Park near the Tuscaloosa, Alabama airport.
ducks drift 
on frigid waters
in Winter wetlands.

Bobbing Ducks [Haiku]

Ducks at the edge of a pond at Audubon Park in New Orleans.
ducks jump off a ledge,
bobbing once in pond water,
and drift onward.

Ignorance is Bliss [Lyric Poem]

A turtle swims to water's edge,
and finds before him a steep bluff.
He makes himself a solemn pledge,
"I'll scale this cliff, however tough!"
Struggling over the toilsome rim,
he sees another wall of stone
stands just ahead - tormenting him.
"Just one more, I'll not piss and moan."
If he could know that it was stairs,
He'd have some turtle curse words to share.

Great Egret [Haiku]

A Great Egret taken at Vickery Creek Trail in Atlanta, GA.
a Great Egret
wades in cold water --
reflection warped.