DAILY PHOTO: Kazakh Wildflowers, Medeu

Taken at Medeu, Kazakhstan in August of 2019

DAILY PHOTO: Solitary Tree

Taken in Kaziranga National Park in May of 2017

The Churn [Free Verse]

On the shore
of angry seas

I hear the crash
of foamy waves,

but miss the 
crisp sudsy sizzle
that one hears
on a sunny summer day.

That nuanced note
is lost to the Churn

DAILY PHOTO: Courtesan’s Walk, Hampi

Taken in Hampi in November of 2013

Nowhere Station [Haibun]

The tawny landscape was tinged with the green that landlubbers take on in rolling seas or flatlanders show on a high mountain pass. The world looked like it was being viewed through shooter's glasses -- except for the azure infinity overhead that was unafflicted by sickly hues. Railroad tracks arced the length of the valley and it was a long valley - so long the tracks almost looked line like. The lack of other signs of humanity might have led one to believe it was the train to nowhere, but there was a solitary station in the middle of the valley and there can't be a station in the middle of nowhere on the way to nowhere. Or, can there be? Maybe, nowhere is like infinity, existing in larger and smaller degrees.


a single building
and a long covered platform,
but just i, waiting

DAILY PHOTO: Machu Picchu in the Distance

Taken from the Salkantay Trail

DAILY PHOTO: Botswanan Bee-eater on a Branch

Taken at Chobe National Park in Botswana in May of 2017

Great Egret [Haibun]

The egret stands on stiff, still legs. By contrast, its neck is coiled into a sinuous strike position. For a long time, only its eyes move, saccading in time with the darting prey below the water's mirrored surface. The egret plays shrub, hoping to lure tiny fish into its shadow, within striking distance of its flexible neck.

the egret stands,
moving only its eyes...
then spears water  

Falling Leaf [Free Verse]

A falling leaf is my teacher.

It craves nothing.
It fears nothing.

It surrenders itself,
 but does not submit.

It will not be hemmed in
for long,
for its patience is infinite.

DAILY PHOTO: Standing at the Parapet Wall, Nandi Hills

Taken in November of 2013 at Nandi Hills