Fading

photo of the sun setting behind suburban houses, the sky engulfed in a pinkish orange shade

At the end of day,
lingering shards of sunlight;
shades on a palette.

Summer

Close up photo of parrot’s beak plants covering the ground. — Parrot’s beak

Typical summer:
parrot’s beak on nature strips;
ground covered in flames.

Wave

Photo of a tree full of bottlebrushes in bloom, against a cloudless blue sky, with a sliver of the moon visible.

Nature’s cheerleader:
waving red-green pom-poms high;
weeping bottlebrush.

Gone

Close up photo of an almond, still intact and on the tree.

Season’s first almond,
as smooth as bearskin carpets—
bird bitten too soon.

Blossoming

Photo of white apricot flowers on bare tree branches, against a gloomy and cloudy spring day.

Like cream atop pie,
little white dollops on trees—
spring is in the air.