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
I
at the pass,
fog stands guardian,
then moves on
II
the chipmunk
freezes at a crack,
sniffing the air
III
a burble rolls
off the paddle as
the boat glides
I
snow white mountain
orange in the morning sun
gray under clouds
II
a southern cat
learns to move through the snow —
never to repeat
III
in the fresh snow
a single set of tracks
curve to the left
Crisp air and clear skies freshen the senses, injecting one into a world more real than one has felt before. Cerulean skies, free of contrails, feel close at hand. Grazing leisurely, a deer cracks a downed limb, the sound carrying across the lake. A fluttering fishtail breaks the water as a bass turns and darts down and away, the sound of sprayed water is heard clearly, though one sees no indication of the creature. Shifting winds fill one’s nose with an antiseptic scent of pine. One is alive — fully alive.
early autumn
skies tint the muddy lake
a cold color
I
a brass bell clangs
in the old temple yard,
tuning my mind
II
at river’s edge,
entranced by water’s flow —
roused by a chirp
III
noisy forest —
a sudden silence,
roused by a hush
I
treed monkeys —
each set of roving eyes
finds its own mark
II
a squirrel sniffs,
smelling the plump acorn
beneath damp leaves
III
a housecat
stalks prey, tiger-like,
no-mind / tail-mind
I
from a tree’s shade,
i admire bright, blue skies —
sunlight shimmers
II
washer-woman,
sitting at the river’s edge,
envying flow
III
foggy river
its far bank hazy,
a duck quacks
I
a gnarled branch
twists its sinewy limb
from a crag;
its grotesque beauty
reminds me of me
II
reflections
on the rice paddies
show the sky
in an angry gray,
but dampen its scowl
III
glacier melt
leaves a great scar
gouged in the earth;
the gray and brown wound
looks like man’s doing
I
bougainvillea
wall of many colors
flames in sunlight
II
carpenter bee
submerges in a flower,
falling to earth
III
frangipani
blossom sits on sidewalk
courting glances
I
lost in thought —
a bird chitters nearby,
or did it?
II
tripping on a root,
falling awake, landing,
what happened?
III
Kingfisher
sits on a bobbing limb
just watching
Tiger Riding for Beginners 