Beetle

Photo of a yellow and black beetle on a pencil, walking towards the hand holding the pencil. The fingers of the hand are visible in the photo.

I am a beetle
trawling to a friendly hand;
lets me down gently.

Food machine

Close up photo of a puppy looking longingly at the photographer’s hand, which is out of the frame, but holding a piece of cracker.

Eyes full of longing
every dog yearns for some love
shaped like a biscuit.

Kid

Photo of a group of goats standing atop a mountain, feasting on tree saplings on the mountain.

Kids on a mountain,
snapping tree saplings in half;
mischievous is youth.

Peace

Photo of a dog sleeping beside a human’s leg with a laptop partly visible on the photo.

Totally stress free;
knows there’s food after his nap—
peace in a dog’s eyes.

Zoo

Photo of giraffes and zebras in a large enclosure, with giraffes nibbling on leaves hung on dead tree limbs. — Auckland zoo

Gently the giants
nibble away at dead trees;
observing humans.