Understory Lore [Tanka]

in a thriving wood,
 sits a barren patch of 
  understory.
 oh what tales locals tell
  about the patch that can't grow!

Bovine Chiropractors [Common Meter]

A cow is an animal, &
 animals are creatures.
  So, having strong proclivities
    is a cardinal feature.

Calling them "creatures of habit"
 must be for a reason.
  If creatures did not form habits
   the term would lose cohesion.

But I digress, I must admit.
 Let me get to my point.
  You see, a sloping pasture must
   be murder on the joints!

A random beast, who stood this way
 & that, would balance out,
  but standing each day - just one way -
   could cause a hip blowout.

A cow that grazes on a pitch
 must have unequal legs.
  Maybe, all it would take would be
   two tiny pirate pegs.

For wearing pegs on the downslope
 side would align the hips,
  but then on walks down to the barn
   cows would be prone to trips. 

For now, there's just one solution:
 bovine chiropractors!
  Because the cost will be so great,
   I'm seeking benefactors. 

Flower Divas [Haiku]

flowers are rock stars:
 standing tall & proud before 
  the swaying grass.

Waiting [Free Verse]

Waiting.
   A space between.

Neither doing,
    nor resting. 

There's something in waiting
    that lies beyond being.

An expectation without promise:

As with Vladimir & Estragon,
    waiting on Beckett's Godot, or
    the Old Man waiting
    at Gao's Bus Stop,
  There may not be a payoff. 

Whatever it is in "waiting" that
    distinguishes it from "being"
    or "resting,"
   it sucks!

All the excitement of expectation,
    nullified by the possibility
    that nothing will happen --
   nothing good, nothing bad...
     just a soul-sucking nothing. 

Five Wise Lines from Ben Franklin

Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.

Never ruin an apology with an excuse.

In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is Freedom, in water there is bacteria.

Many people die at twenty five and aren’t buried until they are seventy five.

Never confuse Motion with Action.

And Five Honorable Mentions:

Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.

How many observe Christ’s birthday! How few his precepts!

It is the first responsibility of every citizen to question authority.

If all printers were determined not to print anything till they were sure it would offend nobody, there would be very little printed.

Tis a great confidence in a friend to tell him your faults; greater to tell him his.

The Nature of Art [Haiku]

in stone mosaics,
nature’s hand is more artful
than the artist’s.

Deer Stalking [Haiku]

a deer walks,
making less sound than
most squirrels.

Watcher [Haiku]

a heron surveys 
the gently flowing river
with great patience.

Spider Hide [Senryū]

behind the leaf, 
a spider hides like a fat
kid behind a pole.

Lone Oak [Haiku]

one oak tree
stands atop the hill:
unstruck by lightning.