Nature

Ngorongoro

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Above : Curtesy National Geographic

Winding down the ridge
From the dense thickets
Acacias, vines, tall grasses and more
Decent steep and curvaceous
Bronzed red earth guides
Deep to the crater
Belly of the volcano
Flat with vast plains of grass
Pools and alkaline lakes
Predators gorge
Lions, hyenas, jackals
Hunting and scavenging
Prey
Wildebeest, gazelle, zebra
Languidly lounge
Or frolick and prance
Birds flutter like Fischer lovebirds
Trot like gineafowl
Wade, treading water as pelicans
Fly and swoop those vultures and cranes
Asantesana-Thankyou
For my opportunity to bear witness
To gatherings of lifeforms innumerable
To the world largest ecosystem
Asantesana
To the powers of this universe
Sun, moon and Earth
Bringing life
Sustaining life
Recycling life

The Baobab Tree

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You may not tower
But stand you do
Strong and grounded
With reassuring girth
Your vertical ripples
And segmental trunking
Branch up symmetrically
Dispersed across the plains
You lend life to many
Hosting beehives
Nesting Superb starlings
With dried out river beds
Elephants gnaw deep into your trunk
Sucking your rich sap
Parasitic plant life
Twine around and into your branches
No harm done
As your longevity is into the hundreds
Oh mighty tree
Humble and kind
In this arid bush land
You stand giant-like
Sharing all you are
Giving house and nutrients
Denying not even the termites
In awe of your qualities
Humbled by your lessons
You teach it is possible
To live with all who share your space

Peony

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Impenetrable
With concentrated density
Tucked and tugged
Her tightness to a bud
Inspiring intrigue
What will become of her
Will she unfurl
Or forever remain insular
Slowly enticed
Her surroundings beckon
With the welcome of suns
By nurturing nutrients
She begins to emerge
Tender gingering
Her mass begins a swell
What lays in her depth
Is both her discovery and reveal
Unending layers
Uniform throughout
Rich with color for living
Graced with buoyant form
Wanting to give of herself
Her soft embrace
Her plentitude
Her deepest gratitude
Yet her bud-time hesitancy
Never too far
As some restraint
Still grounds her down
Tale of the Peony
Who is she to you
You’ve watched her from afar
But she knows you’ve always watered her ♥️

Bird of Paradise

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Distinctly present

With colors unadulterated

Definition unquestionable

With geometrical challenge

What creative precision

With beauty spectacular

As adorned with grand stature

Claiming humbled respect

Bird of Paradise

You inspire a freedom

Exotic and rich

Yet sprout amongst us

Feeding from shared sun and waters

What wise lesson you teach

That wherever you are

With whatever colors and form

We too can unfold

Majestic and magical

Autumn 🍂

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Spring came and she was but a bud,
Full of eager promise.
Green in every torturous way
Simply daintiful and delighting.

With the summer heat
She strengthened with turgor
Resilient to the power of the beaming one,
Enriched by each dawn.

Now with the sun distanced,
Shadows and chilled air govern.
She flaps and fights
Hanging on with brittle stems.

Bursting or bruising
Colors brimming,
Amber to terra cotta
And every shade between.

As departure arrives
Her cabaret is at its height
Her glow, her draw
Never greater, never stronger.

Either gentle float
Or sweeping dive
She brushes downwards
Landing with crisp grace.

Piled in with company abundant.
Crumble awaited
To merge once more,
And merrily feed Mother Earth.

Presence Acknowledged

Dream like, secret garden
Haven for nature’s creatures,
Resting spot for all.

Four legged beauty
Daring to claim her foliated seat,
Despite brick and mortar wedge.

Mutual presence acknowledged,
Acceptance mirrored,
Silent moments shared.

Such respect and dignity
Revered as beauty,
Treasured as gifts.

Then why so different
Within ones household,
With creatures alike, human to human!

Where goes the respect,
The dignity, the awe,
The gratitude?

Perhaps what’s needed
Is to recognize
Those very facets
First, in one’s self.

Not look to others
To give the complements,
To fill the void
Or take the blame.

So look both ways,
Inside yourself
Outside your window.

With such focus
The truest beauty
Can be found,
As you mirror
All of life’s finds.

Pain or Pleasure


Grin and bear it!
From dumbbells
To cross fit ninja workouts,
From early commutes
To long unbearable hours,
From insufferable critics
To cultural and societal divides.

Sweat
Toil
Push yourself to the limit
As you work against your grain

Why?
Because they say
‘No pain, no gain’

Yet
Studies show
He lives longer
He lives happiest is he,
Who loves
Who is happy
Doing just what he does.
That’s Natures way.

Hormones, neurotransmitters;
Dopamine, one of the finest,
Released when you smile
Releases when you laugh
Released when you feel happy!

Side effect?
YES!
More energy
More intellectual capacity
More ‘Happy’

This was Nature’s plan
This is Nature’s gift

So say, ‘No’ to pain
Welcome pleasure
And take home
Your happiness!