What I Know about Beaches [Free Verse]

On a sandy beach,
I think of each grain
of sand as being
the same.

But on a pebble beach,
Each stone has its own
color, texture, size,
and shape.

It's made me second guess
What I know about beaches.

“Night Mooring” by Zhang Ji [w/ Audio]

The moon sets; crows caw below frosty skies.
Boats, moored to maples -- lamps glow like cat eyes.
Cold Mountain Temple, outside Gusu's bounds:
The midnight bell cuts off soft water sounds.

Cold Lilies [Haiku]

water lilies
on a cold, gray day:
half-open, unkempt.

“Daniel Boone” by Stephen Vincent Benét [w/ Audio]

When Daniel Boone goes by, at night,
The phantom deer arise
And all is lost, wild America
Is burning in their eyes.

Riderless [Senryū]

riderless horses
race across the pasture:
finish line unknown

Hawkweed [Haiku]

Hawkweed blooms
beside a creek that sparkles
with summer sunlight.

FIVE WISE LINES [March 2025]

Would the world ever have been made if its maker had been afraid of making trouble?

george bernard shaw, PygMalion

Refrain from talk of others’ shortcomings; don’t rest on your strengths.
[罔谈彼短; 靡恃己长.]

Thousand Character classic [千字文]

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.

george bernard shaw, Man and superman

A child is the most reliable measure of time. His daily growth is proof of your daily ageing and decline. The child’s gains are your losses, and the closer a child gets to anything, the farther you withdraw, as though you were tied to one another on opposite spokes of a wheel and the wheel, without your noticing it, turns. Dawn for the child is dusk for you.

Otar chiladze, A Man was going down the road

We are all dependent on one another, every soul of us on earth.

George bernard shaw, Pygmalion

“To Tirzah” by William Blake [w/ Audio]

Whate'er is Born of Mortal Birth
Must be consumed with the Earth
To rise from Generation free:
Then what have I to do with thee?

The Sexes sprung from Shame & Pride,
Blow'd in the morn; in evening died;
But Mercy chang'd Death to Sleep;
The Sexes rose to work & weep.

Thou, Mother of my Mortal part,
With cruelty didst mould my Heart,
And with false self-deceiving tears
Didst bind my Nostrils, Eyes, & Ears:

Didst close my Tongue in senseless clay,
And me to Mortal Life betray.
The Death of Jesus set me free:
Then what have I to do with thee?

Trampled [Haiku]

beside the trail:
a trampled dandelion
springs back, slowly.

Early Spring [Haiku]

lake shimmer;
Spring sneaks in early --
trees still bare.