Poppy [Haiku]

cliffside poppy:
bee shakily alights
in a mountain breeze.

“Rain on Lotus” by Yang Wanli [w/ Audio]

Asleep on a leaf beneath lotus blooms,
Their fragrance floats across the misty lake.
Sudden rain - taps upon the canopy;
Its sound snaps me from sleep to wide awake!

The lotus is beaded with rain droplets --
Like pearls, drops roll together and apart;
The clear blobs coalesce like mercury,
Dripping to the river... back to their start.

Sunflower Horde [Free Verse]

A horde of sunflowers
Grows on thin stalks
With big, bright heads
That tilt chin-upwards.

Could they stand so tall
And proudly if they weren't
Packed against each other?

When one bitch-slaps a sunflower,
One expects its head to fly
Clean off, but it just does
An angry little head bobble,
And goes about its business,
Looking skyward...

Though - occasionally - one breaks
Into a sad nod.

Hawkweed [Haiku]

Hawkweed blooms
beside a creek that sparkles
with summer sunlight.

Trampled [Haiku]

beside the trail:
a trampled dandelion
springs back, slowly.

On Mud & Lotus [Free Verse]

The saying goes: 
“No mud - no lotus!”

But I can’t help but notice
That the flower is long-stemmed,
Raising it high above the mud.

A tropical newbie,
I used to confuse
Lotuses & Water Lilies.
Then I learned the simplest
Way to distinguish the flowers
(From a distance)
Is that Lily pads
Rest on the water,
While Lotus leafs
Also try to rise
above the muddy water.

I can’t help but wonder whether
Our admiration has made the
Lotus too good for its mud?

“The Lilly” by William Blake [w/ Audio]

The modest Rose puts forth a thorn,
The humble Sheep a threat’ning horn;
While the Lilly white shall in Love delight,
Nor a thorn, nor a threat, stain her beauty bright.

Guileless Hibiscus [Free Verse]

translucent hibiscus:
keeps its secrets
in its folds;
anywhere petals
don't double over,
the light shines through.

hanging face down --
pistil dangling --
pockets emptied by
gravity.

the jungle beyond blurs.

Gangly Sunflower [Haiku]

in an open field,
one sunflower towers,
its head drooping.

Unsettled [Haiku]

a butterfly
lurches flower to flower;
never settling.