Gray [Free Verse]

The sky is gray.
The lake is gray.
The city beyond is gray.

Once so big,
The city is now small,
And I fear fog
Might erase it.

DAILY PHOTO: God’s Eye Mountain, Cao Bằng

DAILY PHOTO: Symphony Lake Fountains, Kuala Lumpur

Image

Dusky Valley [Haiku]

dusky valley:
only silvery waters
have shape & hue.

White Columns [Haiku]

white columns
rise from a mountain lake:
once mighty pines.

“On Dongting Lake: To Premier Zhang” [临洞庭上张丞相] by Meng Haoran [孟浩然] [w/ Audio]

The lake is glassy in August.
The air and sky are oh-so clear.
Vapor steams off of Yunmeng ponds,
Ripples lap at Yueyang's piers.
There're no boats to cross the water.
Shame! I couldn't emulate sages.
I sit and watch a fisherman
And envy his catch and his wages.

This is poem #124 in 300 Tang Poems [唐诗三百首.] Original Poem in Simplified Chinese:

八月湖水平, 涵虚混太清。
气蒸云梦泽, 波撼岳阳城。
欲济无舟楫, 端居耻圣明。
坐观垂钓者, 空有羡鱼情。

DAILY PHOTO: Ulsoor Lake by Morning

Stork at Dusk [Haiku]

stork silhouette
stands on a sunken branch:
dusky summer eve.

Blossom Drop [Haiku]

blossom drops,
fluttering slantwise
into still water.

“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.