After the Rain [Haiku]

after Spring rains,
 puddles throw reflections 
  of light-fringed clouds.

Pile of Sleeping Cats [Haiku]

counting ears
 to learn how many cats,
  but how deep 's the pile?

DAILY PHOTO: Scenes from Darjeeling

Night Drums [Common Meter]

The pounding sound of rhythmic drums
   shatters stillness this eve.
 I know not whether snares are banged
   to celebrate or grieve.

The pace isn't slow enough to guide
   a somber procession,
 nor does it race at the pace of 
   jocular expression. 

It's a well-kept beat, approaching,
   that makes the windows shake,
 but seems suitable only for
   keeping me awake.

The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
 With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
 Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
 A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
 Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
 Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
 Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
 The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
 "Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
 With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
 Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
 The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
 Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
 I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

The Langur Family [Haiku]

a troop of langurs:
 five monkeys doing five things
  as one family.

DAILY PHOTO: Scenes from Udayagiri Caves, Bhubaneshwar

Desert Delirium [Lyric Poem]

The waves are crashing on the shore,
   and I am crawling up the beach.
 The pounding surf sounds like a roar
   as I am fleeing water's reach.

Don't let it take me, I beseech!
   Don't give the beast a second chance.
 It had a turn, but now 's in breach.
   It's met the bounds of its expanse.

And I hear no drums of ghost dance
   to summon it up onto land.
 I twist my head to take a glance,
   and all I see is endless sand.

I Hear America Singing by Walt Whitman [w/ Audio]

I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,
 Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strong,
 The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,
 The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work,
 The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deckhand singing on the steamboat deck,
 The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing as he stands,
 The wood-cutter's song, the ploughboy's on his way in the morning, or at noon intermission or at
   sundown,
 The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work, or of the girl sewing or washing,
 Each singing what belongs to him or her and none else,
 The day what belongs to the day -- at night the party of young fellows, robust, friendly,
 Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.

PROMPT: Month

What’s your favorite month of the year? Why?

In temperate climates, I like early Autumn — say, October. In the tropics, whatever period is neither intensely hot nor intensely monsoon-y, is aces. Where I’m at now: November through March.

Why? I overheat when it’s hot, and that’s unpleasant. I’m fine with rain, but being constantly waterlogged is no fun. I like a cool Goldilocks zone.