“Fable” by Ralph Waldo Emerson [w/ Audio]

The mountain and the squirrel  
Had a quarrel;
And the former called the latter ‘Little Prig.’
Bun replied,
‘You are doubtless very big;
But all sorts of things and weather
Must be taken in together,
To make up a year
And a sphere.
And I think it no disgrace
To occupy my place.
If I'm not so large as you,
You are not so small as I,
And not half so spry.
I'll not deny you make
A very pretty squirrel track;
Talents differ; all is well and wisely put;
If I cannot carry forests on my back,
Neither can you crack a nut.’

Squirrel [Lyric Poem]

The squirrel freezes -- unblinking --
But I cannot help but thinking:
How come its tail is misbehaving?
A betrayal by spastic waving!

Squirrel Alarm [Haiku]

bushy black tail
waves frantically:
squirrel alarm.

Tree of Life [Haiku]

home to birds & squirrels,
the tree holds life in every
crotch & hollow.

True Balance [Senryū]

standing on one leg,
steadfast while squirrels mistake
 one for a tree.

Camouflage, Not! [Haiku]

a squirrel chitters;
its black body against
 the ash gray tree.

Sneak Peak [Haiku]

the chipmunk flattens,
crawling atop battlements
as if to glimpse foes

Evidence [Haiku]

two shucked nuts
sit on a stone pillar --
no squirrel in sight

Squirrel Grind [Common Meter]

The squirrel's life 's an acorn hunt:
forage and hide the nut.
But a feeble mind requires that
it hide them by the glut.

Squirrel happiness is fragile
no cache is big enough
to be certain it'll make it through
should the winter get rough. 

Oh, give me the tardigrade life,
not a doubt it'll survive.
No food, no water, vacuum of space
and the thing 's still [bleeping] alive.

Rather than gathering plenty,
I'd rather need much less,
or, at least, not be so mindless
to hoard in great excess.

DAILY PHOTO: Chipmunk Bullfighter, Amritsar

Taken in Amritsar in April of 2016