I a stand of pines from the lake's edge to the mountain's bald spot
II dense green vines wind through dead tree branches disguising death
III the mountain lake refreshes and chills by sight alone
The air was dry and the valley was dry. Tufts of yellow grass clung to the hillside and to the edges of the valley floor -- where they joined with the barren, brown tines of bleak shrubbery. In the riverbed, smooth stones and boulders sprawled to the shoulders, far wide of the feeble stream that flowed at the moment. The water ran gray, having come from the edges of a glacier that scoured its way down a granite channel. And in the "V" far ahead, clouds as thick as the mountains were being lifted and dropped over a snowcapped peak, pretending they'd bring their moisture into this arid landscape.
mountain clouds may become your fog, or may sit in wait
snowy mountain two sets of tracks: one straight, one meanders
I
the spider,
binding itself four ways,
in a sham rack
II
spider darts
to the center of its web —
tripped by false finger
III
spider dangles,
slanting in a breeze,
reaching to leaf
I
three monkeys
look down from a high branch;
one throws a pit;
a tourist dodges left,
right into the pit’s path
II
a goose struts,
then wheels about – wings flaring –
Karate Kid,
but standing on both legs —
feint with foot, jab with beak
III
a llama
spits in some poor girl’s face
as if she
were Hitler or Kim Jong-Un
classy, Llama, real classy