Playful Thief [Kyōka]

Photograph taken in Lucknow, India in the garden of the Mushir Zadi tomb.
puppy guards 
a stolen garment
it hopes owner
will attempt to retrieve,
so that play can ensue.

Stone Still [Haiku]

Photograph taken in the Buddha Park outside Vientiane, Laos.
stone Buddha:
so still it gathers moss;
I roll away.

DAILY PHOTO: Palms & Mountains, Vang Vieng

Photograph of a palm tree in the fore and karst mountains in the background. Taken outside Vang Vieng, Laos.
Photograph with Vang Vieng Village and a palm tree in the foreground, and karst mountains in the background.

Chinese Painting [Tanka]

Photograph taken at sundown in Vang Vieng, Laos.
sunlight washes out
the distant mountains;
they look like
an old Chinese painting --
ink faded with age.

PROMPT: Pandemic

Daily writing prompt
How have you adapted to the changes brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic?

That’s so far in the rearview that I can’t remember. I’m thinking about the next one. It’ll be here before you know it.

I’m not quite sure what to do about it now that the CDC guidelines are to drink a shot of bleach each morning for the germs and take one bath in raw sewage before bedtime each evening for a robust immune system.

Barbed Wire Highway [Senryū]

Photograph of fire ants on a strand of barbed wire in the countryside near Vang Vieng, Laos.
fire ant highway
on a barbed wire strand
makes me itch.

Dragonfly Eye [Lyric Poem]

Photograph taken at Don Mueang Temple in the north Bangkok suburbs, features waterlilies in the fore and guardian statues in the background.
The dragonfly strafing lilies 
doesn't know how very silly
a bantam taller than a ram
seems to a ram tall as a filly.

DAILY PHOTO: Turquoise Waters of Kuang Si

Photograph of bathers at Kuang Si waterfall in Ban Long, Laos.
Photograph of teal water at one of the terraced drop offs of Kuang Si waterfall in Laos.
Photograph of a cascade and turquoise pool at Kuang Si waterfall in Laos.
Photograph of rushing water and a teal pool at Kuang Si waterfall in Laos.

24/7 Wakeup Call [Lyric Poem]

Photograph taken from Wat Pa Phon Phoa at Luang Prabang, Laos.
In a mountain village,
the roosters crow all day.
Hopes of mid-day napping
are dashed along the way.

PROMPT: Morning Rituals

Daily writing prompt
What are your morning rituals? What does the first hour of your day look like?

Well, I poop… How much detail are you looking for here?