Stump Gator [Kyōka]

Photograph of a young alligator resting on a stump in the Louisiana bayou, near Slidell.
Gator rests on stump.
but my mind cannot rest.
it's not "gator"
and "stump" in the same place,
but in the same sentence.

Common Box Turtle [Lyric Poem]

Photograph of a Common Box Turtle taken in the Bayou near Slidell, Louisiana.
"The race is to steady turtles!" --
Even if the race has hurdles?
Even with its great longevity
it'll never have lift or levity
to finish before life runs out.

Hold off with race applications.
Is racer your ideal vocation?
I don't mean to be Sower of doubt,
but think speed isn't what you're about,
and that you'd make a fine doorstop.

Raccoon [Lyric Poem]

Looking like a masked bandito,
Raccoon dunks expired burrito.
It dips it not to get it clean
but to flavor it: Swamp Latrine.

Great Blue Heron [Lyric Poem]

Photograph of a Great Blue Heron crossing a pond along the Roswell Greenway Trail in Roswell, Georgia.
Skittish is the Great Blue Heron.
It feels when you're stopped and starin'
and will crisscross water like Charon
to keep you on the other side.

White Tiger [Lyric Poem]

Photograph of a white tiger taken in Mysore Zoo in Karnataka, India.
The White Tiger is very cute,
napping in its white tiger suit.
But while awake, is hard to take:
Is it nonconformist, or fake?

Gaur [Lyric Poem]

Photograph of a Gaur taken at the Mysore Zoo in Karnataka, India.
Let me introduce the Gaur.
It's a cow, but superpowered.

It's made of thick slabs of muscle,
And I wouldn't suggest you tussle.
They aren't cattle you can rustle,
That is, unless - in point of fact --
You're eager to be rustled back.

Meerkat Lecture [Lyric Poem]

Meerkats: Taken at the Mysore Zoo in Karnataka, India.
Please allow me a conjecture:
One Meerkat stood to give lecture,
But as with me, as a pupil,
Other Meerkats lacked the scruple
To make a show of listening,
Finding the walls more interesting.

DAILY PHOTO: Brahma Bull and Other Pastoral Scenes

A Brahma Bull in a pasture outside of Mussoorie, Uttarakhand, India.
Photograph of grazing cattle in a pasture near Mussoorie, India.
Photograph of cattle grazing in a pasture surrounded by evergreen trees near Mussoorie, India.

Mimicry [Senryū]

Gray (Hanuman) Langur on a road barrier on the Lal Tibba Road.
Hanuman Langur
mimics a lounging housecat;
then paws at nothing.

Stray Cat [Senryū]

Photograph of a stray cat taken Sri Someshwar Swami Temple in Halasur, Bangalore, India.
lean & scratched up: 
stray cat stares at a leaf
as if it's ham.