In the temple pond
 
one cream-white lotus opens—
 
the old priestess hums.

 
 
 

February thaw—
 
is that Bashō’s frog I hear,
 
splashing in the pond?

 
 
 

A mountain jay shrieks,
 
cracking both morning’s quiet
 
and ice on the pond.

 
 
 

If only this fog
 
would slip across the footbridge
 
and into the pond!

 
 
 

Two wayward mallards
 
skim the suburban rooftops,
 
searching for a pond.

 
 
 

Japanese garden—
 
a child drops one smooth pebble
 
into the koi pond.

 
 
 

Some mornings are hard,
 
as hard as ice on a pond
 
at forty below.

 
 
 

at the duck pond’s edge
 
on an autumn afternoon
 
feathers, blood, and bones

Pond

 
 
 

First rain of autumn—
 
a parched and thirsty frog pond
 
drinks up every drop.

Geese

 
 
 

Three Suchovy geese
 
paddle round and round the pond—
 
autumn afternoon.