Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine, photo by author.
Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine, photo by author.
Mawara-nyo at Sanjusangendo, Kyoto
https://esamskriti.com/essays/images/sanjay10.jpg
Clouds hike their long hems
To hurry over the hills,
Chased by yet more storms.
In the breath between, I pause
As birds bravely try to sing.
04/01/2014
Wet pavement shimmers
As I pick my way through a
Network of puddles.
Yet it is not all wet feet
With a rainbow to the west.
4/02/2014
Peeping through the clouds
A shy crescent moon briefly
Shows her shining cheek.
It is but a brief respite
Before the next rains begin.
04/03/2014
Three years' worth of weeds
Have suddenly become a
Sea of mud puddles.
Consult the weather forecast
Before making that garden.
04/04/2014
I pass miles of them,
Ruthlessly pollarded and
Planted in strict rows.
Yet even in regiments,
The cherries wear lovely blossoms.
04/05/2014
"You fought well today,"
He said, to my puzzlement.
What was he watching?
Or did he mean the battle
With constant pain and myself?
04/06/2014
His repertoire is
A marvel as he shows off
In hope of a mate.
Try though I might, I could not
See where the mockingbird nests.
04/07/2014
Dancing with a drum
Or wielding a sword with grace
Do not come with ease.
I must make up for prowess
With enthusiasm.
04/08/2014
How quiet it is.
Windows open to the night
I wait, listening.
In the distance I hear the
Wail of an oncoming train.
04/09/2014
An inscribed flyleaf
Bears well wishes from the past
In ink faded brown.
Someone else once loved this book
That I now hold in my hands.
04/10/2014
A reunion with
My sister awaits, as I
Wend my way southwards.
Tomorrow we shall journey
Through mist and sun to the sea.
04/11/2014
A lone sentinel
Watches from a rocky cliff,
Gazing out to sea.
The gnarled cypress stands guard for
A sea lion nursery.
04/12/2014
Our path takes us through
Dunes robed brightly in purple
Sloping toward the sand.
An icy wave causes shrieks
Of surprise and wet to the waist.
04/13/2014
The full moon
Dances with stately grace
But I shall not see.
Tonight's portents are cloud veiled
And not for the likes of me.
04/14/2014
Despite the workday
My thoughts turn to bright flowers
And the roar of waves.
Springtime on this rugged coast
Is laden with wondrous sights.
04/15/2014
Which way can I go
When every road is mired
With new construction?
I am coming to loathe the
Sight of hardhatted flagmen.
04/16/2014
Creeping one by one
Toward midnight, the minutes
Taunt my empty page.
This challenge is hardest when
Inspiration does not come.
04/17/2014
Despite a strong breeze
The pot achieves its first boil
As I ready cups.
In a sunny meadow, my
Guests enjoy tea and good cheer.
04/20/2014
If one picture is
Worth a thousand words, what of
Thousands of pictures?
Hidden in boxes, a trove
Of images comes to light.
04/21/2014
The dirt patch next door
Is suddenly dotted with
Tiny sprouts of green.
After three seasons of weeds
The neighbors will have a lawn.
04/22/2014
The clock downstairs peals,
Another half hour counted
As the night draws on.
How many such chimes have I
Counted on how many nights?
04/23/2014
Beneath the streetlight
The pavement seems to sparkle,
Puddles like ink pools.
The scent of rain follows me
As I pull my coat closer.
04/24/2014
Poring over maps
Of a place I've never been,
Except in my mind.
Some day I shall walk those streets
And admire maple crowned hills.
04/25/2014
The old house groans as
Rough winds rush down the alley
And batter the trees.
My aching head is not soothed
Even by a cup of tea.
04/26/2014
The cool kiss of rain
Greets me as I hurry to
The laundry room door.
Inside it is warm as I
Sort and fold and stack my things.
04/27/2014
Vines drip with purple,
Petals hiding the arbor
With their bright cascades.
In spring, it is the fuji
Which is my favorite bloom.
4/28/2014
Windows thrown open
To the night air, I wonder
At the odd weather.
Surely the calendar lies
And we should wear unlined robes!
04/29/2014
In another life
I would glide in rustling silks
With elegant grace.
Instead, I sit listening
To passing trains in the night.
04/30/2014
I never saw it,
As we sped through walls of mist
On the Shinkansen.
Fuji's grandeur must be saved
For when I return one day.
11/01/2014
Her words transport me
Back from the darkened cabin
To shrines and gardens.
Amidst sleeping passengers
Sei whispers to me alone.
11/02/2014
Where did the day go?
Laundry and groceries should
Not have stolen hours.
Now I take back a moment
As night washes the cold sky.
11/03/2014
Kodaiji's lanterns
Glow against the turning leaves
Of its night gardens.
Is that the same moon I saw
Watching over the treetops?
11/04/2014
Hello, my old friend.
I see you floating above
The telephone lines.
Later you follow me home,
Silver moon in the night sky.
11/05/2014
His eyes plead with me
As he reaches through the wire:
I hold out apples.
For a brief instant I don't know
Which hand is mine or Monkey's.
11/06/2014
Beneath a kind tree
I shelter, watching ripples
Spread from each raindrop.
A dark shape passes, heedless.
Koi do not care if it rains.
11/08/2014
Humble kasuri
Vies with elegant brocade
For my attention
What a dilemma! I don't
Know which project to begin!
11/09/2014
Late afternoon sun
Glances off polished granite
And casts tall shadows.
Graves of ancestors look down
Upon the old capital.
11/10/2014
Someone placed them here,
Each tree and plant, each old stone
Now bedecked with moss.
As we admire the effect
A garden requires hard work.
11/11/2014
Cranes may be icons
Of good fortune, but I saw
Silver clad herons.
They watched me from riverbed
And garden, like tall shadows.
11/12/2014
Pausing to catch breath
I am suddenly alone
With the mountainside.
So many gates, limned in light,
Leading eye and spirit on.
11/13/2014
Silently they wait
In a corner for the hands
That will make them sing.
In my mind I already
Hear the music of heaven.
11/14/2014
Her gaze arrests mine
Amid the glowing ranks of
Kannon-bosatsu.
Guardian, general, she
Watches even as she prays.
11/15/2014
Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine, photo by author.
Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine, photo by author.
Mawara-nyo at Sanjusangendo, Kyoto
https://esamskriti.com/essays/images/sanjay10.jpg
Golden leaves shimmer
As if lit from within, though
The sun hides her face.
Gingkos wave at each other
Like friends from across the street.
11/16/2014
Each night I sit here,
Trying to call to mind a
Poetic image.
I set the bar high so I
May bruise my forehead on it.
11/17/2014
We bow and spar,
I die once again,
My hands and feet are too slow.
So much I have lost, missing
Two weeks/ practice with a sword.
11/18/2014
Waking to raindrops
Pattering on the skylight
Is a cozy sound.
Alas, I cannot lie and
Drift back to sleep, I must rise.
11/19/2014
Months of dying grass
Give way to autumn storms and
Suddenly lush lawns.
I dash madly for the house
Between drops, my hems now soaked.
11/20/2014
It is often hard
To make pilgrimage in the
Proper frame of mind.
The cacophony of crowds
Besiege the gates of heaven.
11/21/2014
The road takes me through
Curtains of rain, now heavy
And dark with their threats.
Yet peeping between the veil
Are pale bands of a rainbow.
11/22/2014
Teppanyaki made
By a chef named Miguel and
Cheap cups from Daiso.
You did Christmas shopping
While I sighed for my Kyoto.
11/23/2014
Blazing like a torch,
The maple out front begins
To scatter its leaves.
One caught beneath a wiper
Flutters gaily as I drive.
11/24/2014
A fingernail moon
Supervises our swordplay
Without a comment.
My foe and I start laughing
As we double-kill. Again.
11/25/2014
A fragment of news
Sets the mind racing like
A hamster on its wheel.
It is hard to be patient
Waiting for information.
11/26/2014
I divert children
While their mother prepares for
Our holiday meal.
Her dishes are delicious
And my pies are a success.
11/27/2014
The falls flow thinly
In autumn, their spring thunder
Hushed by summer drought.
The riverbed now a Zen
Garden of stone and mirrors.
11/28/2014
Heedless of tourists
Valley deer graze as we stroll
Through autumn grasses.
A crescent moon shows her hull
As she sails for the sunset.
11/28/2014
Heart leaping, I brake
As a ghostly shape crosses
The mountain roadway.
In silence, she passes close
As if we were never there.
11/29/2014
Yosemite National Park, photo by author.
Yosemite National Park, photo by author.
Yosemite National Park, photo by author.
The patter of rain
Wakes me even as it lulls
Me to stay abed.
Warm coverlets tempt even
As the day's duties beckon.
11/30/2014
Copyright 2014, 2019 Lisa A. Joseph. All photos by Lisa A. Joseph except where noted.