Beetle [Lyric Poem]

Photograph of beetle in Botswana, near the Chobe River.
A Beetle that was built like a tank
Crawled over a blazing riverbank
Now as any sane one would think
It should head straight for the drink
To cool off its little ole toes.
But as astute readers will know,
It hasn't really got any toes,
So, it can walk hot sands real slow.

DAILY PHOTO: Chobe River Sunset

Image

Photograph of a sunset taken from the Botswanan bank of the Chobe River in the Chobe National Park.

River Taco [Lyric Poem]

Photograph of Hippopotamus in the Chobe River, between Botswana and Namibia.
We kayak where lives Hippopotamus,
And hope it isn't submerged, a-bottom us.
With kayak a quite crunchy hard shell --
Us: savory filling that screams and yells, --
We'll be a three-bite river taco to hell.

Last Blossom [Haiku]

bloom-laden Cherry
tree attracts no viewers;
the last blossom does.

DAILY PHOTO: Mussoorie from the Mountaintop

Photograph taken in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand, India.
Photograph taken from Lal Tibba to Mussoorie, India.
Photograph taken in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand, India.

DAILY PHOTO: Atop a Karst Formation in Laos

Photograph taken atop Phapoak Mountain, near Vang Vieng in Laos.
Photograph taken atop Phapoak Mountain, near Vang Vieng, Laos.

Whiplash Weather [Free Verse]

Photograph taken in Stepantsminda, Georgia of evergreens in the foreground and Mount Shani in the background.
Mountains are the
Lamborghini of weather --
from gray and dismal to
gloriously sunny
and back again
in record time.
It may rain and the droplets
burn off before noon,
leaving no trace of
the gloom.
One day may feel
multiple ways before
the sun goes down.

The human mind isn't
built for such whiplash
emotional experience.

Disappointed Sparrow [Kyōka]

Photograph of a large, bowl-like, mushroom stuck to a tree in a forest. Taken along the Big Creek Greenway in Alpharetta, GA.
birdbath grows from
fungus on a dead log;
flitting sparrow
is disappointed to find
no water remains within.

Winter Marsh [Haiku]

Photograph taken along the Big Creek Greenway in Alpharetta, Georgia.
light sparkles 
on shallow water:
winter marshland.

Winter Blossoms [Senryū]

Photograph of pink blossoms in Winter. Taken from the Big Creek Greenway Trail in Alpharetta, GA in early February.
Winter plum blossoms
try to trick mind and eye;
cold fingers won't buy.