Crocodile [Lyric Poem]

The Crocodile has a toothy smile,
And, Oh My, is he so proud of it.
I'll sing his praises (play Croc-o-phile)
As long as I'm ten feet above it.

Cheetah [Lyric Poem]

The Leopard cannot change its spots;
Maybe an obese Cheetah can
Blot out all of those old, black dots
With an orange cheese powder tan.

“The Friend” by A.A. Milne [w/ Audio]

By E.H. Shepard; Public Domain; Source: Wikimedia Commons
There are lots and lots of people who are always asking things,
Like Dates and Pounds-and-ounces and the names of funny Kings,
And the answer's either Sixpence or A Hundred Inches Long,
And I know they'll think me silly if I get the answer wrong.

So Pooh and I go whispering, and Pooh looks very bright,
And says, "Well, I say sixpence, but I don't suppose I'm right,"
And then it doesn't matter what the answer ought to be,
'Cos if he's right, I'm Right, and if he's wrong, it isn't Me.

Slow Convergence [Tanka]

morning valley hike:
i slowly walk toward
the sunny-side
as the sunny-side walks
toward me - slower still.

“A Dream Within a Dream” by Edgar Allan Poe [w/ Audio]

Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow --
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.

I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand --
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep -- while I weep!
O God! Can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?

Algae Patterns (Haiku)

swirled striations 
in the pond algae
reflect floating clouds.

“Tiantai” [天台] by Fēnggān [w/ Audio]

I came once to Tiantai,
And back ten-thousand times.
Like clouds or water tides:
Drift and flow, come and go.
I stroll, free of worry,
Buddha's Path - in no hurry.
While the world's forked roads
Lead men to fret and scurry.

“No Man Is an Island” by John Donne [w/ Audio]

No man is an island,
Entire of itself;
Every man is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.

If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less,
As well as if a promontory were:
As well as if a manor of thy friend's
Or of thine own were.

Any man's death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in mankind.
And therefore never send to know
for whom the bell tolls;
I tolls for thee.

Cliff’s Edge Poppy [Haiku]

at cliff's edge,
the swaying red poppy,
lures one closer.

Fēnggān [Senryū]

the monk rode in
on a bright-eyed tiger, and
started hulling rice.