Redbud [Haiku]

Photograph taken in Tbilisi, Georgia in late Spring. The pink flower buds appear to be from a Redbud tree.
dense clusters
of pink flower buds
brighten the trail.

Ivy & Stone [Free Verse]

Taken in the Old City of Baku, Azerbaijan.
There's something relentless
in an old stone wall...
But, also, cold and dead.
One knows it will not stand forever --
that it will go the way of
ruins, rubble, stones, and dust --
but, still, it can outstand any man.
Ivy climbs to camouflage the stone's
cruel deathlessness,
But then the ivy stands on the wall
year after year after year...

Chill Induced Memory [Tanka]

Taken in Fountains Square in Baku, Azerbaijian.
the memory
of an outdoor cafe
at city center
comes to me out of the blue,
on a frigid Winter day.

Ominous [Common Meter]

An ornate door seen in Armenia. It's wood surface carved into winding patterns that form a cross and snake-like patterns.
What lives behind that ornate door
that's carved of snakes and vines?
I see them writhe and feel a shift
in its symbols and signs.

Play Mind [Common Meter]

Photograph of a sculpture called "Imagination" in Vardanians' Park in Yerevan, Armenia.
What is this cloud above my head
on such a sunny day?
You may think it foreshadows rain.
I think that it brings play.

Armenia [Common Meter]

Photograph taken in Northern Armenia on a drive to Georgia.
I once sped through an ancient land
that blurred of gray and green.
Its pastures had been neatly grazed
by some livestock, unseen.

Its mountains rugged, under clouds
whose drift could not be seen.
It felt like a long-lost painting
or unremembered dream.

Silenced by Ice [Haiku]

Ice on limbs. Taken in Sumeg, Hungary in Winter.
seedpod rattle
is silenced by ice crust
on Winter branches.

First Snow [Haiku]

A photo taken in Normafa, a hill overlooking the Buda side of Budapest, Hungary, after a thin snow.
tufts of grass poke
through a dusting of snow;
tomorrow -- mud!

Winter Forest [Haiku]

Photograph taken in Van de Graaff Park near Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
evergreens peek
over the shoulders
of barren hardwoods.

Polished Copper [Haiku]

Winter's warm light
on coppery Cyprus leaves
makes a polished glow.