Tiger Riding for Beginners

Traveling Poet Philosopher & Occasional Wiseacre

water lilies,
 in the early morning sun,
  stand tall & proud.

SPRING

on wet feet,
 the sparrows hop
  down the hall.

SUMMER

the owl naps,
 and dreams of a
   summer grove.

AUTUMN

sunny autumn day:
 smoke from something burning
  rises skyward.

WINTER

a snowy night;
 the sound of bamboo
  rustling.

gold-sash Buddha
 sits under Fall colors,
  watching leaves drop.

the rising sun
 hides behind winter trees
  as a fat kid
 hides behinds a fence post, 
 fooling no one.

frangipani blooms
 litter the temple walk.
  sound of sweeping.

a moth, wings tattered,
 basks in the canopy-
  breaching spotlight.

sunrise paints the haze
 the color of campfire flames,
  and nothing looks real,
 but rather like a painting
 by an artist, skilled & lazy.

graveyard trees
  turn crimson in the Fall, but
    hold leaves stubbornly.

in sandstone canyons,
 shrubs grow thick & green;
  no signs of day life.

the last cluster
 of frangipani flowers
  tops a bare tree.