DAILY PHOTO: Hippos on the Shore

Image

Cormorant Flotilla [Haiku]

cormorant heads
drift over the water:
fishing in formation.

PROMPT: Wild Animals

Daily writing prompt
Do you ever see wild animals?

Yes, frequently. Even in the city where I live, Bangalore, I see black kites, herons, and egrets on a daily basis, as well as the occasional monkey (macaque.) [Notably, Bangalore — like Mumbai — has had issues with Leopards in the city, but I’ve never seen them.] But when I travel to wilderness areas, there’s lots of wildlife to be seen. A couple weeks ago I visited Ranganathittu Sanctuary and saw marsh crocodiles, macaques, pelicans, and painted storks. In India, I’ve seen rhino, wild elephant, mongoose, cobra, and many other creatures. In Africa, I’ve seen most of the big ones (lion, elephant, hippo, giraffe, zebra, cape buffalo, etc.)

I was just learning from the wildlife in the park this morning as I watched chipmunks scurry around in a circle of ravens, and that kind of surprised me that the chipmunks didn’t seem phased. I see ravens eating bigger rodents (city rats are about the size of housecats,) but they made no moves on the chipmunks. Maybe chipmunks have stronger kung fu, or maybe they just don’t have enough meat on the bones. I don’t know.

A bird… and if you look closely, you’ll see an elephant under it.

DAILY PHOTO: Spot-Billed Pelican

Crash / Landing [Haiku]

the pelican flares
 to land on a branch
  with barely a bounce.

Cold Sparrows by Yang Wanli [w/ Audio]

Hundreds of cold sparrows dive into the empty courtyard,
   cluster on plum branches and speak of sun after rain at dusk.
 They choose to gather en masse and kill me with noise.
 Suddenly startled, they disperse. Then, soundlessness.

NOTE: This translation from: Barnstone, Tony & Chou Ping. 2005. The Anchor Book of Chinese Poetry. New York: Random House. p.422.

Crow Cabal [Haiku]

three crows circled up.
their conversational look
makes me nervous.

Bee-Eater [Senryū]

bee-eater sits still --
 not searching, not flitting:
  worried of bee's plight?

Grass Patch [Haiku]

in commonplace grass:
a hidden delicacy
for tiny birds.

Bird at Work [Haiku]

bird at work:
flitting branch to branch,
seeking perfect seeds.