Tiger Riding for Beginners

Traveling Poet Philosopher & Occasional Wiseacre

nature makes no
 straight rivers; men make none
 that meander.

a squirrel chitters;
 its black body against
 the ash gray tree.

the sun rises
 on a quiet city
  as it wakes.

sunrise orange
 sparkles on the lake;
  lone fisher casts nets

a quiet harbor
 keeps choppy seas at bay,
 but all boats are out.

thin moon crescent 
 shines brightly on a
  cold, winter night.

white silk-cotton tree,
 sinuously sprawling —-
  chaining earth to sky.

saffron-colored carp
 mill about the garden pond.
 a cat watches...

a copse of bamboo
 shades the mossy creek rocks,
 deepening their green.

a Chinese Banyan,
 belted with prayer plaques,
 entreats but sky & soil.