Flowers for offerings

flowers3, originally uploaded by c_p_lew.

Dear Flower Lady,

Flowers so clean and pure,
gathered for offerings,
good luck in traveling,
welcoming a birth or
sending someone on the path
after death.

Flowers so rich in color and fresh
clean smell.
The aroma pushes back the scents of the market,
the colors relieve the sights of
brown dripping liquid from bruised fruit,
corn husks attracting flies in the gutter.

The breath of the garden
makes me forget the slippery mud under my feet,
and the cries of chickens in the cages.
The flowers are good income -
I know, I hear you telling your friends.

I know this, and when I smell in the flowers
with the incense in the temple or at the shrines,
I meditate on how these
roots, loosened from clinging to the soil
remind us all
of life, fragile as the petal.

Yours truly,
A Satisfied Customer

Letter #4: letter to a wild animal in her environment

wild animal and her environment.jpg, originally uploaded by c_p_lew.

Dear Zetta,

The world's a mysterious place,
especially for you and your stubby legs
which give you a view of the underside.
Plants are umbrellas and the banana leaf
a broad tent, filtering green light on to
the forest floor.
Watch out for grandmother's chickens
and Wii-do, the manic dog.
The scraps of paper are not snakes,
and the plastic bag caught on the fence is not
an eagle, coming to swoop down on you.

Don't go too far,
and yes, I will bring the cat food tonight.

Yours truly,
That big human who lives for you

Letter #2: Dear Tree

bodhi tree4.jpg, originally uploaded by c_p_lew.

Dear Tree,

I know the difficulty
of breaking through concrete
to soar into the sky.

I know the frustration
of holding rage inside.
How nice it would feel to drop a branch on that
man carving sentiments into your bark.

I know you get sad,
and every year, you cry your leaves down, leaving
you naked and vulnerable.

What I can never know
the mystery of how you can bear to send out
new leaves.
Light green, whisper thin, shimmering in the wind.

Yours truly,
An admirer at your roots.

Letter #1: To the sky

This month's challenge on NaBloPoMo is 'letters' - however you want to interpret them.

Dear Sky,

Thanks for the rain yesterday. It was quite a surprise, since the weather has been doing its usual thing of parading through March and April, getting hotter drier and dustier.

This morning I was greeted by the sunrise - pinks and reds over the mountains. It was an impressive sight after such a long time of merely see the gray hazy sky lighten until it reached the color white. The color blue is very nice.

I just have one little request. Next time, could you tone down the thunder and lightening a little bit? It knocked out the power, telephones and internet.

Yours truly,
One person under the sky