Rusty Prayer Wheels [Lyric Poem]

Photograph of prayer wheels at a Vajrayana Buddhist Temple in Bhaktapur, Nepal.
Rusty prayer wheels
on a dusty street.
They squeak & they squeal,
& no circuit completes,
but still hands reach out for each one
'cause who has faith in the clean wheel spun?

Frame of Reference [Free Verse]

Photograph taken at a butterfly sanctuary on Bohol Island, Philippines.
a butterfly hangs
upside down,

but it seems upside down
is as meaningless an
an abstraction for it
as the two million km/h
that a human sweeps,
spins, expands, etc.
through space
is for the person who
feels only the couch
against his backside.

what must it be to not know
upside down -- to feel free
to fall, knowing the air
will catch one?

Fungi Time [Haiku]

mushroom stands tall;
wasn’t there the day before,
may be gone the next.

Perspective [Lyric Poem]

Photograph of a monkey looking sideways through the bars at a temple in Lopburi, Thailand.
Perhaps, you cannot change your jail,
And you can't choose the lumps and scars --
No matter how you scream or wail --
But you pick your view through the bars.

PROMPT: Unique

Daily writing prompt
Which aspects do you think makes a person unique?

Literally everything about a person — except (conscious or unconscious) attempts to copy others –contributes uniqueness.

The only reason we are not each entirely unique is that we make active attempts (for both good and bad reasons) to not be.

NOTE: Identical twins may have a different perspective.

Deceased [Free Verse]

Photograph taken in Greenwood Cemetery of New Orleans, Louisiana.
clouds drift over
the cemetery -

unseen by all those
upturned eyes.

What a glorious day
to be deceased!

Play Mind [Common Meter]

Photograph of a sculpture called "Imagination" in Vardanians' Park in Yerevan, Armenia.
What is this cloud above my head
on such a sunny day?
You may think it foreshadows rain.
I think that it brings play.

PROMPT: Judge of Character

Daily writing prompt
Are you a good judge of character?

While I might flatter myself that I can recognize an asshole when I see one, the truth is that stealth assholes are real.

PROMPT: Positive Events

Daily writing prompt
What positive events have taken place in your life over the past year?

Positive? Negative? Who’s to say? Like the Taoist farmer, I’ll withhold judgement.