Time Alone

Cloak me
in your verdant splendor
of softly draping moss
and lichen’s cling
Let me lie
upon soft beds
of delicately
feathered fronds
while leaves flutter
and branches sway
above
and birdsong
becomes a lullaby.

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

Invitation to Dream

Little bursts of color
dance among the shade
to beacon
as they bob and sway
and seduce you to stay
Tiny stars
wink in the dark
among
hues of dusky green
with tangled stems
like spiderwebs
to catch you
in a dream

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

A Moment’s Sun

A sea of sword fern
as tall as a man
sway in light breezes
as a moment’s sunlight
dips through trees
to bathe fronds
briefly
before the angle
changes
and shade returns

Don’t get lost
in the shadows

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

Fomitopsis pinicola

Hungry tendrils
tap the heart
making fallen trunks
into brittle twigs
as stronger brothers
look on
towering above
to provide shelter
for all that
now call
their fallen bretheren
home

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

The Sunbathers

Delicate petals
ruffle in the breeze
as sunny faces
tilt up
towards the sky
So sweet
and delicate
they seem to be
and yet they
bask
happily
in the savage heat
and water
is all they need

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

The Heat Dome

Temperatures rise
then rise some more
and records break
then crumble
while sun sears
everything in sight
and heatwaves rise
to blur the world
while people
wilt in the shade

make room
I want to dive in

Photo © ZenStatePhotography