Tiger Riding for Beginners

Traveling Poet Philosopher & Occasional Wiseacre

the fire climbs,
changes shape, and fades
until black remains

a stinkhorn unfolds,
drops its gauzy skirt, 
and soon is gone

a gnarled old tree -
set against a backdrop 
of fanned bamboo

a maple’s red leaves
shake and twist in the wind,
but hold tight… today

bare branches
spiral skyward
yawning wide

no water, no tree;
some water, fine tree;
much water, dead tree

a wet spring day
brightened by a droopy 
canna lily

monsoon falls -
a thunderous drone,
pitch unchanging

bright city -
clouds plod overland,
curbing mirth

the elephant's gait -
unrushed and lumbering,
but without detours