Stumbling Urban [Haiku]

over a ridge,
and a sprawling city grows
into my wilderness.

“Men Say They Know Many Things” by Henry David Thoreau [w/ Audio]

Men say they know many things;
But lo! they have taken wings, --
The arts and sciences,
And a thousand appliances;
The wind that blows
Is all that any body knows.

Last Dance [Haiku]

tattered butterfly
comes to rest after a
spastic last dance.

Rocky Outcrop [Tanka]

the rocky tip
of grass-coiffed outcrop
is all I see,
but the sound of a crow's "CAW!"
comes through loud & clear.

“A Slumber did my Spirit Seal” by William Wordsworth [w/ Audio]

A slumber did my spirit seal;
I had no human fears:
She seemed a thing that could not feel
The touch of earthly years.

No motion has she now, no force;
She neither hears nor sees;
Rolled round in earth's diurnal course,
With rocks, and stones, and trees.

Evergreen? [Tanka]

"the trees are green!"
except when blue, white, or black:
in morning sun,
in peak sun, in moonlight,
under dense clouds, or no clouds.

Monkey Insight [Kyōka]

langur in a tree
remains still as others flee;
it seems to know
my limitations as well as
its own capabilities.

“A Recluse” by Wang Changling / Amy Lowell [w/ Audio]

A cold rain blurs the edges of the river.
Night enters Wu.
In the level brightness of dawn
I saw my friend start alone for the Ch'u mountain.
I gave him this message for my friends and relations:
My heart is a piece of ice in a jade cup.
This is the Amy Lowell translation of a poem by Tang Dynasty Poet, Wang Changling (王昌齡) --a.k.a. Shaobo (少伯) 

Foggy Stream [Lyric]

A thick cloud nestled into the
valley down below,
I wonder if the forager
in that streambed knows
that it's sunny above.