arrow counting

With the arrow pointing left,
do you read one three two,
or two three one?
Photo: Door, Shamshuipo, Hong Kong

peace row

Fingers and spouts,
flowing.
Photo: A friend's home in London
And thinking of my friend G.

eye prize

Keep your eye on the prize,

said Miles Davis.

Photo: Replica of Notre Dame window, in a friend's home

joy play body

Joy in body, in play,
and then something else
added for the lens.
Photo: Beside a friend's home, Salvador, Brazil

purple scenery

The other day, I walked the road where we live, a straight line, about fifteen kilometers long. It reminds me of the purple sage of Mulholland Drive in Los Angeles.
Photo: Along Norfolk Road, Wairarapa, New Zealand

way of building, being

There is a central quality which is the root criterion of life and spirit in a man, a town, a building, or a wilderness. This quality is objective and precise but it cannot be named.
 Photo: A farm building, Wairarapa, New Zealand
Text: Excerpt from The Timeless Way of Building, Christopher Alexander

moss

I have always loved moss,
and near this river,
there are many beds.
Step. Sleep.
Photo: About ten minutes away from our home,
Mount Holdsworth, New Zealand

the road where we live

There is a gun club on the road where we live. 
The entrance has two puddles. Sky reflected.
Most of the time, sheep roam around the unused targets.
Photo: Along Norfolk Road, Carterton, New Zealand

hat cat

This reminds me of the story
The Three-legged Cat
in which a man wears a cat as a hat,
and a woman keeps a hat as a pet.
Photo: Our cat, New Zealand
Text: See Margaret Mahy, The Three Legged Cat

breath and play

[I want to] '...make our discovered country leap into the eyes of the Old World... It must be mysterious. It must take the breath...
All that I write - all that I am - is on the borders of the sea. It's a kind of playing.'
Text: Quotes from Katherine Mansfield, in Lorna Sage's Moments of Truth (2001), pg 72
Photo: L returns today, here she is with her friend C, Owhiro Bay, New Zealand

window and words

The window in my study.
Photo: In my New Zealand home

hip hip yes yes yes

A friend's father will have a hip 
replaced today. May all go well 
in his body, mind, spirit. 
Yes. Yes. Yes.
Photo: Swings, Titirangi, New Zealand

you with me

We're making more bookcases and favo(u)rite shelves are the ones that hold books created by friends and family. I like having you with me.
Photo: Storefront, Masterton, New Zealand

occupy infinity

We finally have understood that we move 
as a mass individually.
Photo: My colleagues' shoes, Hong Kong
Text: Nikki Giovanni on the occupy movement
Click here for whole Giovanni text

I've just been born

Don't bother me.
I've just
been born.
Photo: Car cover, Northpoint, Hong Kong 
Text: The opening of One or Two Things, by Mary Oliver

island, mainland

I am on North Island
looking at the South.
These two islands are 
the mainland of New Zealand.
Photo: Across Cook Strait, New Zealand
(Sorry for the two spots. Time to clean the camera.)

around

Around the corner could be God
Photo: At Lake Onoke, New Zealand
Text: An excerpt of my poem, 'the act of walking'
which is set in urban Hong Kong, but corners are everywhere

water to water

This river leads to this lake.
It used to flow to the sea.
Photo: Ruamahanga River at Lake Onoke, New Zealand
On the other side of the spit is Paliser Bay, the Pacific Ocean.

dribbler?

When I hear the word 'dribble' now, I think of cat. We have two, and they both dribble and purr when petted. In the past, dribble was for the basketball.
Photo: Cat in Brazil

looking at

This house lives down the road from us. 
No one lives there right now.
Friends recently bought some land nearby, and across the way is an empty barn they also like to look at.
Photo: Along Norfolk Road, Carterton, New Zealand
Today's post is for a and g and h and their new home in the making.

after rain and wind,

puddles fade.
Photo: Nearby in New Zealand

wet darkness

We went for a walk the other day and found 
a bench to deeply see this wet darkness.

Photo: Swamp at Fensham Reserve, Carterton, New Zealand

rise and shine

Rise and shine and sing.
Photo: Cabbage tree, New Zealand
A gift for my sister e and friend b 
on their 9.9 birthdays 

i'm walking down the road

I walked down this fifteen kilometer road and the cone did not make me stop.
Photo: Norfolk Road, Wairarapa, New Zealand

you

This is the Chinese character for 'you'
and I love you.
Photo: At a street event for justice, Hong Kong

a day in the sun

A sun day in the land of new zeal.
Even at 7 a.m. when we sat outside 
with the first cup of tea, the light was already as bright as bright.
Photo: Scones made by L and me, New Zealand

spring is springing

Spring is springing here 
in the land of new zeal.
Photo: Magnolia bud, Carterton, New Zealand

kids in Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, "moral and national education" about Chinese history may be instituted in the schools. Kids have staged a hunger strike. Parents have protested. 
History is now.
Photo: A cafe's playroom for kids, New Zealand
For information on the Hong Kong government's plan:
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2012/09/02/thousands-protest-hong-kongs-moral-and-national-education-push/

cattails

I grew up with cattails in one hemisphere, and here they are again, in another.
Photo: Cattails, Carterton, New Zealand

please enter

Every day, we see, enter.
Photo: Our driveway, New Zealand