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.

Treetop Fall Drop [Haiku]

the treetop leaves
that catch early & late sun
are the first to fall.

Ice Mirage [Haiku]

sun shimmer
in a dense patch looks like
a sheet of ice.

Painting with Clouds [Haiku]

a writhing dragon,
is painted by the sunset
in vivid colors.

Sundown River [Haiku]

shadowland edges, 
and a liquid metal stripe:
river sunset.