A voice on the breeze
Draws me down to the river
As if in a dream.
An old warrior sings of
Country byways and of home.
04/01/2016
Waking so early,
She marshals her strategy
For winning the day.
This field is hers to take, hold,
Defend against all others.
04/02/2016
Sometimes a trail cools
And one wonders hopelessly
Why one has lost ground.
Is it too much to hope I
Might rise off this sad plateau?
04/03/2016
Since they tore it down
Sound carries across the lot
Where the warehouse stood.
Soccer scores and light drift by
From the sports field down the street.
04/04/2016
I dream of blossoms
And a path by a river
Far away from here.
This fountain is no river
But it is bright with petals.
04/05/2016
Soft beneath my hand,
Waves of spring-shoot green yardage
Slowly take their shape.
The needle follows its path
But my mind wanders elsewhere.
04/06/2016
A lurid sunrise
Seems almost unreal as I
Prepare for the day.
Duty awaits, and perhaps
A cup or two of hot tea.
04/07/2016
Outside a soft hiss
Of tires on wet pavement hints
At a cool night rain.
Within, the sinuous strains
Of old school jazz take me back.
04/08/2016
Insistent rain taps
And sputters at the window
While I am elsewhere.
Sometimes all you need is a
Cup of tea and a good book.
04/09/2016
It was a fierce race:
Above, a herd of storm clouds
Cut across my road.
The final sprint to the house
Counts as my small victory.
04/10/2016
With rain come the weeds,
Each springing up to replace
The ones freshly plucked.
Thus is a life of duty
Filled with ever sprouting chores.
04/11/2016
Within this circle
Are galloping hoof beats
And the rush of storms.
Kaji Yama meets once more
Sticks whirling to bring thunder.
04/12/2016
If muses were real
Surely I would have something
To write about now.
Lightning does not always strike:
The point is to try to write.
04/13/2016
The wind's sudden shift
Rattles windows and whips at
Newly green branches.
I shiver despite my coat
As I rush toward the house.
04/14/2016
I dreamed of that path
Along a river pink with
A rain of petals.
Though I walked it in autumn
I would see it in springtime.
04/15/2016
Heavy hearted, I watch
Landslides, collapsed buildings and
Those frightened faces.
Kumamoto is shaken:
What can I do to help them?
04/16/2016
A morning's errands
Result in tea, new books
And some art supplies.
So much productivity
Was rewarded with a nap.
04/17/2016
The calendar lies!
It feels more like high summer
Than springtime to me.
Windows thrown open to tempt
A stray breeze, I sip cold tea.
04/18/2016
The moon seems to smile
As I leave the dojo and
Bid my friends good night.
Dare I imagine the roar
Of our drumming did please her?
04/19/2016
It could be summer
On this night of bright moonlight
And sweet scented grass.
I hear the laughter of friends
Still belling in memory.
04/20/2016
Today I found out
Someone I used to know passed
From this dewdrop life.
The wheel turns with news of friends
Now expecting a baby.
04/22/2016
Something has set off
The neighbor's dog two doors down:
He is in full cry.
At this hour, it's most likely
A squirrel or the postman.
04/23/2016
Winds shake the treetops,
Rattling windows and tossing
Clothes from drying poles.
Like a cat after midnight
The rushing keeps me wakeful.
04/24/2016
Pictures of mountains
Whisper my name with voices
Only I can hear.
I long to return to those
Pine fragrant byways of stone.
04/25/2016
Armed with a needle
I campaign across a field
Of willow hued cloth.
Satisfaction comes with the
Placement of the final stitch.
04/26/2016
Even as I read
I muse on how much must be
Lost in translation.
I leave it to you, reader,
To judge the worth of my words.
11/01/2016
The first lines are rough,
Hesitant with the disuse
Of art not practiced.
Trust the brush and ink to
Know their job if I do not.
11/02/2016
Orion stands watch
As I proffer my key card
At the office door.
Armed only with my wits and
A mug of tea, I start work.
11/03/2016
His emergency
Wrought havoc with afternoon
And into morning.
At last, a moment to breathe
And sip from my cooling tea.
11/04/2016
A feather shed by
Some celestial creature drifts
In the dusky sky.
Will it fall at last to earth
Like dying leaves of autumn?
11/05/2016
Waking too early,
My eyes are assaulted when
I do leave the house.
Too garish, the sunrise declares
That clocks have been monkeyed with.
11/07/2016
Heartsick and betrayed
That the sky yet glows azure
And the sun dares shine.
I will not bow, nor stop,
Nor let the world set us back.
11/09/2016
Wading through the day,
The mud of exhaustion drags
At my every step.
There is something so vexing
About a lingering cold.
11/10/2016
I remember him,
Wrapped in a kesa of truth
And humble wisdom.
Five raw pilgrims he welcomed
To Hiezan's teaching hall.
11/11/2016
Windows thrown open,
I cannot believe the date
On the calendar.
How can I wear autumn clothes
On a day such as this one?
11/12/2016
Curtains of white mist
Beset my morning route for
A number of miles
Not until I climb autumn
Seared hills do I escape it.
11/13/2016
They tore down buildings
To make way for new, making
A mud lake next door.
In the meantime, the gap makes
For unobstructed moonrise.
11/14/2016
Overnight it seems
The lawn has vanished beneath
A flood of scarlet.
Each step is heralded by
The rustle of maple leaves.
11/15/2016
Blustery breezes
Stampede through the treetops with
Rustling abandon.
Time to close windows against
The chill and make some more tea.
11/16/2016
Auschwitz, Tule Lake,
Manzanar, Dachau, Topaz,
Birkenau and Heart Mountain.
Have we not been here before
Amid those barbed wire fences?
11/17/2016
Too many thoughts whirl
Like dead leaves scuttling before
A capricious wind.
Sometimes the only relief
Is retreat to solitude.
11/18/2016
Exhaustion so thick
I did not make time to write
After a long day.
Rain chatters at windowpanes
So I shall sip tea and rest.
11/20/2016
To my left, sunrise
Breaches a rampart of clouds
Heavy with raindrops.
Briefly a rainbow straddles
The island before the storm.
11/21/2016
Old houses whisper
And creak, all settling timbers
And groaning hinges.
Who comes and goes downstairs is
Reported by slamming doors.
11/22/2016
How can I be her,
That girl peeling apples at
The kitchen table?
"These Foolish Things" remind me
Of Grandmother even now.
11/23/2016
I miss the gingko
That stood on the street corner
Across from the house.
Chain link fencing takes its place,
Houses promised for that lot.
11/25/2016
We sit in the dark,
Entranced by a tale as it
Unwinds before us.
Hero and villain battle,
Lovers unite, credits roll.
11/26/2016
At sunset a bugle
Tells mournful tales of service
And sacrifices.
Instead of Gion's sad bell
We have a Marine barracks.
11/27/2016
Rain in the morning
Makes it hard to leave my nest
Of cozy blankets.
Go to sleep, whispers the rain,
Alas, I must go to work.
11/28/2016
A troop of bare trees
March the top of eastward hills
Against a cold dawn.
I do not know what they guard
But still I am glad of them.
11/29/2016
A world roofed in grey
Presses in, its damp embrace
Lingers in the air.
Stop lazing about, you clouds,
If you're going to rain, RAIN.
11/30/2016
Copyright 2016, 2019 Lisa A. Joseph. All photos by Lisa A. Joseph.