Babel

Friends, I must say that am very proud to have my one of my haiku included in the latest THF Haiku Dialogue! The selections from so many wonderful multinational poets are a great pleasure to read! Check it out.

cypress buds…
multilingual chatter
of nesting birds

Al Gallia
Louisiana, USA

HAIKU DIALOGUE – Avian Adventures – Diversity (1)

No Squirrels Out

Winter Interlude
bare cypress quivering…
tireless wavelets scurry
before the icy wind
Al W Gallia 12-31-2022

Lake Martin, Louisiana in the winter! Not an egret, heron, or alligator in sight. Sunsets, cypress trees, blowing moss, shadows… all provide such beautiful settings and colors for poetry and photos. Love it!

Summer Respite

Nothing is more peaceful in the summer than a cypress swamp in the dead heat of day. The stillness is broken only by cicadas harmonizing, peepers chirping, and occasional egrets calling. Nature’s pungent perfume wafts on a random light breeze that gently moves a few lily pads. Sweat drips from my brow onto my camera. I love it! okay

in the duckweed

a gator’s eye twitches…

foraging wood ducks

©️Al W Gallia 2021

Thank you, Lord, for this moment of your peace in our troubled world.

Winter Sojourn

Silence surrounds me except for the chirp of a flitting red cardinal. From the blue sky, February’s sun filters through the leafless cypress and tupelo trees, imprinting the still waters with a kaleidoscope of browns and blues. I drift silently along, feeling a cool breeze and breathing nature’s scent.

winter swamp

a canoe slips through

earth-toned waters

©️Al W Gallia 2021

The Dead Leaf

One of my greatest joys is wandering along trails in Louisiana’s swamps and woodlands, always with my camera and hiking stick in hand. Meandering and communing with God amidst nature’s solitude and beauty almost always brings my soul the peace, quiet and happiness it seeks. It is winter now and, after several frosts, the deciduous trees and shrubs have shed most of their leaves. A fresh north wind carries the scent of a campfire as it swirls the dry leaves. A single leaf struggles to hold fast to a cypress branch…

a dead leaf

hanging from the bare cypress…

gusting wind

Al Gallia