False Water [Haiku]

river reflections
tell a tale of still water.
They lie!

FIVE WISE LINES [October 2025]

Gwalior Fort on Gopachal Hill in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India

I had better never see a book
than to be warped by its attraction clean out of my own orbit,
and made a satellite instead of a system.

ralph waldo emerson; The american scholar

Free should the scholar be, — free and brave.

Ralph waldo emerson; The American Scholar

If you think adventure is dangerous, try routine, it is lethal.

Paulo coelho

What you’re supposed to do when you
don’t like a thing is change it.
If you can’t change it,
change the way you think about it.
Don’t complain.

Maya angelou

No man ever steps in the same river twice,
for it’s not the same river
and he’s not the same man.

Heraclitus

Twilight River [Haiku]

at twilight,
the glassy river
pretends stillness.

DAILY PHOTO: Cao Bang Sunrise

DAILY PHOTO: Sprawling Danube

Dark Delta [Haiku]

sun sets upon
the river delta:
then pitch black night.

DAILY PHOTO: Nam Song Blue Bridge

DAILY PHOTO: Chobe River (w/ Eagle)

Image

“To the River” by Edgar Allan Poe [w/ Audio]

Fair river! in thy bright, clear flow
Of crystal, wandering water,
Thou art an emblem of the glow
Of beauty—the unhidden heart—
The playful maziness of art
In old Alberto’s daughter;

But when within thy wave she looks—
Which glistens then, and trembles—
Why, then, the prettiest of brooks
Her worshipper resembles;
For in my heart, as in thy stream,
Her image deeply lies—
His heart which trembles at the beam
Of her soul-searching eyes.

Dizzying [Haiku]

mountain trail:
kicked stone sails, then drops...
out of sight.