Dueling Colorful [Haiku]

Butterfly shows off
its luminous blue wings
 to hot pink flowers.

Sneaky Sun [Free Verse]

A small arc of sun
stands above the trees

Like the tufts of hair
that give away the
hiding boy who can’t
judge hairdo height.

The next time I turn around,
I see Sun -- fully out and
stalking up behind me,
   looming larger.

“Curtain” by Paul Laurence Dunbar [w/ Audio]

Villain shows his indiscretion,
Villain's partner makes confession.
Juvenile, with golden tresses,
Finds her pa and dons long dresses.
Scapegrace comes home money-laden,
Hero comforts tearful maiden,
Soubrette marries loyal chappie,
Villain skips, and all are happy.

Infinite Golden Buddhas [Free Verse]

Infinite golden Buddhas
 stretch along the path.

Each step occurs
 in the presence of one
 and the presence of all
 and the presence of none --
  simultaneously.

World Tree [Haiku]

white silk-cotton tree,
sinuously sprawling —-
chaining earth to sky.

“The River Runs Red” by Yue Fei [w/ Audio]

Enraged, I lean on the rail as rain ceases.
I look skyward, and sigh -- then roar.
My grand legacy has crumbled to dust:
A journey of thirty years and 8,000 li.

Young men, don't let regret come with gray hair!
The shame of Jingkang lingers -- a foul taste
We Generals must wash from our mouths.
Let's charge our chariots through Helan Pass
To feast on the flesh of our foes & drink their blood.
 Only then can we return home with honor.

In Chinese, the poem is entitled 滿江紅 (Man Jiang Hong,) “The Whole River, Red”:

怒髮衝冠,憑欄處,瀟瀟雨歇。
抬望眼,仰天長嘯,壯懷激烈。
三十功名塵與土,八千里路雲和月。
莫等閒白了少年頭,空悲切。
靖康恥,猶未雪;
臣子恨,何時滅?
駕長車踏破賀蘭山缺!
壯志飢餐胡虜肉,笑談渴飲匈奴血。
待從頭收拾舊山河,朝天闕。

Garden Carp [Haiku]

saffron-colored carp
mill about the garden pond.
 a cat watches...

“The Night Has a Thousand Eyes” by Francis William Bourdillon [w/ Audio]

The night has a thousand eyes,
 And the day but one;
Yet the light of the bright world dies
 With the dying sun.

The mind has a thousand eyes,
 And the heart but one:
Yet the light of a whole life dies
 When love is done.

Phantasm Avenue [Free Verse]

Bleary-eyed drunks
 stagger down the street;
Eyes drawn to
 orbs of color,
Looking up,
 the lanterns become
  planets.
Spinning spheres of
 vertiginousness
  that send tipsy chappies
   face first into terra firma.

Bamboo Thicket [Haiku]

a copse of bamboo
shades the mossy creek rocks,
 deepening their green.