Morning

through lavender clouds-
the cheeks of the sky blushing
with the coming dawn

encroaching dawn-
last night’s candles
turned to smoke

Shower

passing rain showers-
steam rises from the asphalt
in the summer sun

soft patter-
august leaves
talk to the rain

Kanashibari

awake in the dark
so transfixed by the vision
I can’t make a sound

the crickets silenced-
a specter looms
o’er my footboard

Strangers

sitting on the train
I look across the aisle and
see you as you were

hot city streets-
a stranger wears
my memories

Temple

a smiling buddha
round belly worn smooth by
hands of thousands

pagoda doors-
stone steps cut
in the hillside

bird

in a copper bowl
beneath a blooming dogwood
a robin splashes

sudden showers-
a crow flies
through the rain

Photos

dark attic corners
within an old cardboard box
dusty memories

summer boardwalk-
sepia toned
memories

Leaves

I am but a leaf
countless among the masses
on the tree of life

approaching autumn-
spring leaves
begin to fall

Time

a rain-soaked highway-
the skeletal hand of fate
cuts another thread

trapped in amber-
mountains are as
grains of sand

Reincarnation

a thousand lifetimes
wasted following the path
of least resistance

spring dawn-
first sunrise
seen again