But o, photography! as no art is,
Faithful and disappointing!
Philip Larkin

White oak, Earlham Cemetery, Norwich, UK, 2023

Enlightened beings of pāramī perfections  

With dāna, giving of the self,
khanti, endurance, and
upekkhā, equanimity,
they have arrived at some place,
way beyond my grasp.

I keep running with a devil, while
they look profound and sublime – grounded.

Can they see me?
What do they see in me?
 

About them –
I’ve always had a bad conscience.

Street art, Norwich city centre, UK, 2023

Zip bench by Nigel Barnett, Marriott’s Way, Norwich 2023

Angkor Wat, Cambodia, 2022

Polluter’s lament

‘In hell
there’s a special place
for those who relieve
themselves in a forest.’
 

warns the scripture
on the southerly wall
of your jungle temple.
 

This time
I’ve come here –
not to stray,
nor to expiate my sins
with sacrifice.
 

I am here to pray, 
pray for –
 

your forgiveness.

Antique Burmese, ArteGlas, Synergraphic, Singapore 2023
The Antique Burmese Series were handmade in the now-defunct Nagar Glass Factory in Yangon in the mid-1990s.

Saying it aslant

In a world on an axial tilt
lids on the skew fit  
woks askew.

The situation is as delicate as
global burning.
 

The earth has been shattered.
 

Under the circumstances,
once broken, considered sold –
 

who wants to hold the placard.