Fisherman

Barefoot fisherman—

only moonlight fills the hold

as he heads for home.

Abbot

One hair on his toe

grows longer as the moon wanes—

the barefoot abbot.

In a used-book store

the clerks pad around barefoot

restocking the shelves.

Nearby thunderclap—

three barefoot children scramble

to escape the storm.

A barefoot woman

enters the temple courtyard

bearing gifts of rice.

Three barefoot children

dance their way through the rubbish

on a Mumbai street.

A slow, mournful song

leaks from the fat cicada

impaled on a thorn.

On the scarecrow’s hat

two cicadas stop to mate

before moving on.

ripping off the wings

of a hapless cicada—

the schoolyard bully

On the garden gate

a malcontent cicada

raises a ruckus.