Dead Leaf Mantis [Haibun]

This mantis pulls off the dead leaf look. Its abdomen mimics a leaf - desiccated and rolled up upon itself. A barber-sign slant spiral of veins add the perfect touch. Even once one notices the six thin legs, legs invisible to all but a piercing, hunched-over stare, there remains a period during which it is more acceptable to the mind to think of it as twiggy leaves than as an insect. Amid a litter of dead leaves, I'm sure my eyes would never land on this skinny bug, but even on a rocky outcrop that's perpetually swept bare by way of the breezes that whip and wrap around the mountain, it still seems more leaf than bug. 

a dead leaf mantis,
standing in an unlikely place,
yet my mind screams, "Leaf!"

Sunrise in the Karst Labyrinth [Haibun]

The sun rises; its fiery form flares in the slit between monsoon skies and rocky monoliths. The crazy array of karsts, pillars, and islets block this bright amber flash from most angles, but here the light aligns with eye. A golden walk painted on the rippled surface stretches to the boat's bow. A thousand boats won't see this rising fire, but this one did, this one time.

the sun squints
beneath thick clouds, painting
a line to us 

Desert Colors [Haiku]

in the desert,
color blooms in dense clumps
among scrubby sands

Four Eyes [Tanka]

a bold moth
sits still & confident;
the eyes it adds
to trees, rocks, and leaves
make them mock monsters

Colca Canyon Condor Haibun

The condor soars, riding the updraft, its back sun-gilt, its wings stretched taught and flared at the tip, its head and eye swiveling seemingly independently, as if able to pierce any point with militant precision of vision. The condor is pure power, but knows the economy of the glide. The condor seeks something meaty, for to land on a desiccated pile of bones and fur is the worst kind of insufferable, and so he glides and watches... and glides and watches...

with piercing eye
and readiness to dive
the condor soars

DAILY PHOTO: Macal River, Belize

Taken near San Ignacio, Belize around 2010 [From Hawkesworth Bridge]

DAILY PHOTO: Evergreens & Mountains, Karakol NP

Taken in Karakol National Park in 2019

Step Stone Senryū

a rock that looks like
the perfect stepping stone
is where danger lies

DAILY PHOTO: Mountain Creek

Taken in Himachal Pradesh in June of 2015