Tiger Riding for Beginners

Traveling Poet Philosopher & Occasional Wiseacre

bougainvillea
 spill over a wall:
  beautiful menace.

in an open field,
 one sunflower towers,
  its head drooping.

a water lily
 opens in the morning sun:
  reciprocal glow.

in rainy season,
 grass grows from every crack,
  closing on idols.

a swallowtail
 lands on a thorny thistle,
  resting in comfort.

a butterfly
 lurches flower to flower;
  never settling.

bloom-laden branch
 stretches to reach beyond 
  the shadows... but no.

tight bud opens: 
 imperceptible struggle
  to unpack beauty.

the red hibiscus
 draws attention to itself,
  while pointing downward.

the early blooms
 are wilted; they’ll be gone when
  the tight buds open.