“The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow [w/ Audio]

The tide rises, the tide falls,
The twilight darkens, the curlew calls;
Along the sea-sands damp and brown
The traveller hastens toward the town,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.

Darkness settles on roofs and walls,
But the sea, the sea in the darkness calls;
The little waves, with their soft, white hands,
Efface the footprints in the sands,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.

The morning breaks; the steeds in their stalls
Stamp and neigh, as the hostler calls;
The day returns, but nevermore
Returns the traveller to the shore,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.

Lakeside Leaves [Haiku]

lakeside leaves are 
turning and dropping, but
no floaters remain.

Water Lilies [Haiku]

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

Four Seasonal Haiku of Masaoka Shiki [w/ Audio]

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.

Autumn Gold [Haiku]

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

Hide Your Light [Kyōka]

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

Diminished [Free Verse]

I take a sunrise photo
And find the glorious orb
Diminished by poor photography,
& upstaged by a flaring pigeon.

DAILY PHOTO: Pai Canyon

Tattered Moth [Haiku]

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

“The Splendour Falls” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson [w/ Audio]

The splendour falls on castle walls
And snowy summits in old story:
The long light shakes across the lakes,
And the wild cataract leaps in glory.
Blow, bugle, blow, set the wild echoes flying,
Blow, bugle; answer, echoes, dying, dying, dying.

O hark, O hear! how thin and clear,
And thinner, clearer, farther going!
O sweet and far from cliff and scar
The horns of Elfland faintly blowing!
Blow, let us hear the purple glens replying:
Blow, bugle; answer, echoes, dying, dying, dying.

O love, they die in yon rich sky,
They faint on hill or field or river:
Our echoes roll from soul to soul,
And grow for ever and for ever.
Blow, bugle, blow, set the wild echoes flying,
And answer, echoes, answer, dying, dying, dying,