Natural progression

close up photo of a white bottlebrush flower, partly in bloom — White bottlebrush

Fists tightly curled up,
babies unravel slowly—
bottlebrushes, too.

Fulfilled

panaromic photo of a swamp cypress bonsai tree, with its name tag saying it was established in 1976

Bonsai shows restraint,
compacted in a small frame,
a complete life lived.

Contained

photo of the hot morning sun, glowing from behind wide white clouds

Waiting to burst out:
a song in a nine-year-old,
sun behind the clouds.

Tangled

photo of the trunk and branches of a fig tree

Flexing lean muscles,
attention-seeking fig trees—
their wish, my command.

Expansion

photo of the city sprawled out below, as seen from the window seat of a plane, with the wing visible outside

Uncontrollable
pests—rabbit populations—
sprawled humanity.