Stone Bridge [Haiku]

old stone bridge:
weeds grow in its cracks,
its river ran dry.

“I fear’d the fury of my wind” by William Blake [w/ Audio]

I fear’d the fury of my wind
Would blight all blossoms fair & true,
And my sun it shin’d & shin’d,
And my wind it never blew.

But a blossom fair or true
Was not found on any tree;
For all blossoms grew & grew
Fruitless, false, tho’ fair to see.

Spring’s Story [Haiku]

unfurled buds,
not drooped to gravity,
tell Spring’s story.

World Lung [Haiku]

trunk splits to branches
that stretch to the edge
of oxygen’s crossing.

Understory [Haiku]

understory thrives:
light plants & shadow plants
each finds its place.

Clouds Out [Haiku]

rhododendrons aren't blooming, 
but clouds fled & mountains are out!

Pinecone [Haiku]

plump pinecone
nested in copper-
colored needles.

“Granadilla” by Amy Lowell [w/ Audio]

I cut myself upon the thought of you
And yet I come back to it again and again,
A kind of fury makes me want to draw you out
From the dimness of the present
And set you sharply above me in a wheel of roses.
Then, going obviously to inhale their fragrance,
I touch the blade of you and cling upon it,
And only when the blood runs out across my fingers
Am I at all satisfied.

“Lament 2” [感遇二] by Zhang Jiuling [张九龄]

Verdant orchid leaves of Spring;
Cassia blooms bright in Autumn;
Thriving plants, top to bottom.
Festivals planned by their timings.
Who knows the forest recluse --
Pleased with winds and winds with he.
Plants have stems, branches, and roots
Why beg a belle to pluck their fruits.

This is poem #2 of the 300 Tang Poems [唐诗三百首,] and is the second in a quartet of poems called 感遇 [Gan Yu.] The original poem in Simplified Chinese goes:

兰叶春葳蕤, 桂华秋皎洁; 
欣欣此生意, 自尔为佳节。
谁知林栖者, 闻风坐相悦。
草木有本心, 何求美人折?

“A sepal, petal, and a thorn” (19) by Emily Dickinson [w/ Audio]

A sepal, petal, and a thorn
Upon a common summer's morn --
A flask of Dew -- A Bee or two --
A Breeze -- a caper in the trees --
And I'm a Rose!