DAILY PHOTO: View from a Cliff, Yehliu

Image

The Flood [Haiku]

muddy streets,
after the flood:
bare feet squish.

“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.

DAILY PHOTO: A Few Views of the Malacca River

DAILY PHOTO: Sevan Lake, Armenia

On Mud & Lotus [Free Verse]

The saying goes: 
“No mud - no lotus!”

But I can’t help but notice
That the flower is long-stemmed,
Raising it high above the mud.

A tropical newbie,
I used to confuse
Lotuses & Water Lilies.
Then I learned the simplest
Way to distinguish the flowers
(From a distance)
Is that Lily pads
Rest on the water,
While Lotus leafs
Also try to rise
above the muddy water.

I can’t help but wonder whether
Our admiration has made the
Lotus too good for its mud?

DAILY PHOTO: Elephants Take a Swim

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

The water understands
Civilization well;
It wets my foot, but prettily,
It chills my life, but wittily,
It is not disconcerted,
It is not broken-hearted:
Well used, it decketh joy,
Adorneth, doubleth joy:
Ill used, it will destroy,
In perfect time and measure
With a face of golden pleasure
Elegantly destroy.

Crocodile Wu Wei [Lyric Poem]

Sunning on the shore,
As in days of yore
When the ancient beast
Stood its ground to feast,
Waiting for one to crawl
Near its gaping maw...
Then, SNAP!
CRUNCH! - Crunch - crunch...