Vanishing Hills [Haiku]

rows of hills,
 each new ridge fades more
  into nothingness.

Beyond Sight [Kyōka]

in the mountains,
 beyond every sightline,
  a potential top...
 but - more likely -
  just more to climb.

Escaping the Cave [Common Meter]

Climbing a mountain, I feel like
  I've escaped Plato's cave.
 My senses reel as though they're a
   crew of newly freed slaves.

The sky is bluer, rivers green,
  each grit granule is clear.
 And even at the very edge,
   there's ease in feeling fear.
 By "ease" I mean not frozen stiff,
   but like a friend so dear
 that one can take one's grand peril,
   a gift received with cheer.

Take me to the mountains, I say,
  where it's serene and real,
 and I can open up my sight
   to a world that's ideal.

DAILY PHOTO: Sundown at Mt. Agung, Amed

Taken in Amed on December 30, 2022

Blanketing Clouds [Haiku]

clouds conform 
to a volcanic cone
like a blanket

DAILY PHOTO: In Karakol National Park

Image

What the Grass Loves [Haiku]

a cold, rainy day,
but the green grass thrives --
well-watered / air fresh

DAILY PHOTO: Kangchenjunga

Taken from Darjeeling in December of 2021

DAILY PHOTO: Mountain w/ Clouds Above & Below

Taken on the trail to Goechala in Sikkim in May of 2022

Spillover [Haiku]

clouds top the green hills
and threaten to spill over,
but never do