Tanka challenge 2010
(Originally posted to my LiveJournal and to the Tousando)

Outside the window
Branches wave their leafy arms
At the wind's prompting.
Clouds vie against the sun and
The final gusts of winter.  (4/1/10)

The day shifts from mist
To drizzle to mist again,
Unceasingly bleak.
Spring's soft breezes cannot come
Quite soon enough to suit me! (4/2/10)

Mist gives way at last
Before the sun's promenade
Through a cloud pocked sky.
Distant sails toss on the bay
Like petals on the spring breeze. (4/3/10)

Finally silence,
Broken only by the drip
Of rain from the eaves.
Reluctant to cede its hold,
Winter shakes a stormy fist. (4/4/10)

I set a challenge
To test myself and perhaps
Create some beauty.
What I do is what I do.
What you do is what you do. (4/5/10) click here for context.

With each blow, thunder
Erupts from the rawhide skins.
Bodies sway and strain.
Through the whirling sticks I think
"I'd better not hit poor Clint!" (4/6/10)

The neighbor's dog bays
As dusk deepens. A door slams
Somewhere below me.
Evening settles on the
Neighborhood like an old quilt. (4/7/10)

They're not in that drawer.
Nor are they in that basket.
Perhaps here - but no!
Search as I might through the house
I cannot find my tabi! (4/8/10)

Out there the sun shines,
Taunting me in the face of
My daily duties.
Another Friday passes
Far too slowly to suit me. (4/9/10)

New mown, dewy grass
Tempst the nose with spring scents as
It chills the toes.
Towering clouds crown the hills
With the promise of more rain. (4/10/10)

How green are the hills
Peeping through their misty robes
Across the harbor.
Soon it will be the time for
The glow of distant lanterns. (4/11/10)

From  blushing questions
To the richesse of true art
And friendships like gold:
Renown is not black or white
It is far more colorful. (4/12/10)

Against the black hills
Distant lanterns glow softly
Like tiny fireflies.
The random clank of halyards
Rises from the marina. (4/13/10)

The window downstairs
Rattles in protest about
A stiff ocean breeze.
Despite late afternoon sunshine
More spring storms lurk off the coast. (4/14/10)

The windows vibrate,
The very walls seem to shudder
At this rude onslaught.
Apocalyptic horsemen?
No, some jerk in a boom car. (4/15/10)

Still so white and soft,
But here and there, one sees signs:
Worn spots and even a hole.
What lover would trade for such
A poor, shabby kosode (4/16/10).

Pine boughs gently shade
The women with their hand work
As fighters compete.
The clack of their mock battles
Seem a ritual of spring. (4/17/10)

Another long night
In a still, silent old house
Alone with my thoughts.
The hours till dawn march onward
With or without the sleeper. (4/18/10)

The tiger's child wields
His brush like a sword as he
Fights like a dancer.
Long life and joy to him
Born in that auspicious year. (4/19/10 birthday wishes for my friend, my inspiration, Richard Man.)

Clouds pile in the west,
A tangle of pinks and greys
Like slept-in bedding.
Chilly as the dusk breeze is
The empty mat that awaits. (4/20/10)

Whipped by savage winds
The maple cowers against
The side of the house.
Yet another storm thrashes
Its way through the countryside. (4/21/10)

Gnarled vines are laden
With purple and white cascades
Of bursting flowers.
So briefly the fuji* blooms                                               (*wisteria)
Before falling to tatters. (4/22/10)

One cup tastes of joy,
While this one whispers subtleties.
That one struts and crows.
It is a delight to pour
For a circle of good friends. (4/23/10)


Hills robed in spring green
Loom over the pilgrim's path
As I move homeward.
If only it were my lot
To wear such a rich color. (4/25/10)

The lights of houses
In the hills defy the night
Despite their distance.
Here we are, shining, they cry.
As I watch from my window. (4/26/10)

Clouds heavy with rain
March like a footsore army
Retreating eastward.
Even the sunset is grey
And the hills glower dimly. (4/27/10)

Jagged as flint blades
And as dark, white rimmed waves bite
And tear at the shore.
A sea bird hangs in the air
Defying the whipping wind. (4/28/10)

That stranger I see
Stares back at me with my eyes
From a mirror's depths.
Some days I would trade wisdom
For youth in all its folly. (4/29/10)

Ha ha ha ha ha
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
Ha ha ha ha ha
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
Ha ha ha ha - just kidding. (4/30/10

A month is over,
A new one dawns tomorrow
With new challenges.
Will I write more, I wonder,
As spring turns into summer? (4/30/10)

Copyright 2010, Lisa A. Joseph

Return Home