Ripples [Haiku]

rocking boat,
splash heard behind --
spin to see... ripples.

The Flood [Haiku]

muddy streets,
after the flood:
bare feet squish.

“Glass was the Street – in Tinsel Peril” (1518) by Emily Dickinson [w/ Audio]

Glass was the Street - in Tinsel Peril
Tree and Traveller stood.
Filled was the Air with merry venture
Hearty with Boys the Road.

Shot the lithe Sleds like Shod vibrations
Emphacized and gone
It is the Past's supreme italic
Makes the Present mean --

What I Know about Beaches [Free Verse]

On a sandy beach,
I think of each grain
of sand as being
the same.

But on a pebble beach,
Each stone has its own
color, texture, size,
and shape.

It's made me second guess
What I know about beaches.

“Night Mooring” by Zhang Ji [w/ Audio]

The moon sets; crows caw below frosty skies.
Boats, moored to maples -- lamps glow like cat eyes.
Cold Mountain Temple, outside Gusu's bounds:
The midnight bell cuts off soft water sounds.

Cold Lilies [Haiku]

water lilies
on a cold, gray day:
half-open, unkempt.

“Daniel Boone” by Stephen Vincent Benét [w/ Audio]

When Daniel Boone goes by, at night,
The phantom deer arise
And all is lost, wild America
Is burning in their eyes.

Riderless [Senryū]

riderless horses
race across the pasture:
finish line unknown

Hawkweed [Haiku]

Hawkweed blooms
beside a creek that sparkles
with summer sunlight.

“To Tirzah” by William Blake [w/ Audio]

Whate'er is Born of Mortal Birth
Must be consumed with the Earth
To rise from Generation free:
Then what have I to do with thee?

The Sexes sprung from Shame & Pride,
Blow'd in the morn; in evening died;
But Mercy chang'd Death to Sleep;
The Sexes rose to work & weep.

Thou, Mother of my Mortal part,
With cruelty didst mould my Heart,
And with false self-deceiving tears
Didst bind my Nostrils, Eyes, & Ears:

Didst close my Tongue in senseless clay,
And me to Mortal Life betray.
The Death of Jesus set me free:
Then what have I to do with thee?