Tiger Riding for Beginners

Traveling Poet Philosopher & Occasional Wiseacre

some spiders scurry 
 when  their web trembles,
  but not the orbweaver.

lonely egret
 wades in calm water,
  awaiting lunch.

guardian lion
 watches the setting sun like
  it’s up to no good.

hazy valley:
 after the harvest,
  the fields are burnt.

a barren tree
 clings to a cliff face;
  winds have nothing to shake.

mountain bamboo,
 on the sunny side, 
  cools & quiets.

even a stream
 charges a toll, and
  thwarts cheaters.
 step on stone: slip & fall;
 sink calf deep: you may pass.

rice harvested;
 the paddies are dry.
  buffaloes graze.

bougainvillea &
 gold trumpet grow together: 
  one tree, two personas.

a sea of clouds:
 flat & calm; rimmmed with
  cumulus mountains.