Autumn Rust [Haiku]

the year shows its age,
 a coating of rust flushes
  the hilltops.

DAILY PHOTO: Autumn in North Carolina

Crow Cabal [Haiku]

three crows circled up.
their conversational look
makes me nervous.

furu ike ya [Old Pond] by Matsuo Bashō

old pond,
 a frog jumps:
  "plop-splash!"

Original: 古池や蛙飛びこむ水の音; Romanized: furu ike ya kawazu tobikomu mizu no oto

Octopus [Free Verse]

Eight arms
seeking eight
different states
of being.

Winding sinuously
toward eight
different ends.

Wrapping opposing
limbs around
antipodal objectives,
it risks tearing
itself in twain…

but knows better.

First to Fall [Haiku]

by the green river,
one tree prematurely
takes Fall colors.

Depreciation [Tanka]

in the morning,
 a fresh blanket of snow
  makes the world look new.
 by day's end, it's well-trodden:
  a car driven off the lot.  

DAILY PHOTO: Scenes from the Sundarbans

Spring Wildflowers [Haiku]

Spring wildflowers
 cluster among the rocks; 
  sheep bells clang nearby.