The Tanka Challenge Project
Late afternoon sun
Conspires with a playful breeze
And the calls of birds.
After a busy morning
I cannot control a yawn.
04/01/2018
Blossoms give way to the
Clatter of hammering and
Rising walls and roofs.
Even the birds are drowned out
By relentless construction.
04/02/2018
Instead of songbirds,
Defiant crows greet the dawn
With their rough clamor.
They taunt the men in hard hats
And mock the ugly condos.
04/03/2018
Phenomenal woman,
She'd have been ninety today
That poet teacher.
Still her words rise to inspire
From a past rooted in pain.
04/04/2018 For Maya Angelou
I had to wonder
At the newcomers standing
In the side alley.
Why all of a sudden do
We have so many trash bins?
04/05/2018
A persistent hiss
Wakes me from a dead sleep in
The dark of my room.
Just the rain, but now I must
Get up and close some windows.
04/06/2018
Awake so early
I run through plans for the day
And put on my clothes.
Rain or no rain, I have things
To do and people to see.
04/07/2018
Clay footed, I failed.
I was not who you think and
I let myself down.
I can only go foward,
Wiping boots on yesterday.
04/08/2018
Bitter on the tongue
Is the medicine I use
To deal with these aches.
Bitter too is the knowledge
I must battle time itself.
04/09/2018
A crescent moon peeps
Shyly through the streaky blinds
Of a grey dawn sky.
Like her, I am not looking
Forward to what this day brings.
04/10/2018
Kindle and Facebook hate
Working together and so
They ate my poem!!!!
The challenge says no rewrites:
This is not about egrets.
04/11/2018
Time to shut windows
Against the darkness and winds
Blowing from the hills.
Though I saw wisteria today,
The cold still clings with vigor.
04/12/2018
The clock has just chimed,
Reminding me that the day
Is nearly over.
Yet here I sit once again,
Struggling to craft a poem.
04/13/2018
Errands completed,
I took the road by the bay
On my way back home.
The tide was high and white with
Blustery winds from the sea.
04/15/2018
Storm and Sun fight
To dominate a spring day,
With all their powers.
When it includes a hail storm,
Don't blame it on foxes.
04/16/2018
He stood on the grass,
Challenge gleaming in his eye
As I came outside.
Silly crow, I am nowhere
Near your nest in that maple!
04/17/2018
I am in no mood
To write anything pithy
Or witty or wise.
Insert requisite amount
Of profanity instead.
04/19/2018
A long road traveled
Mostly in darkness
Ends with warm welcome.
What fun it is to visit
Friends I don't often get to see.
04/20/2018
Jade eyes assess me:
"NOW!" he cries, then turns away,
Flicking his striped tail.
"NOW!" he leaps into my lap
To accept the worship due.
04/21/2018
Willing hands and feet
To remember our training
I must hold the field.
As I count bruises later
I am not discontented.
04/22/2018
I can never know
What a Monday morning holds,
Knowing only this:
It is impossible to
Compose by a ringing phone.
04/23/2018
No peaceful garden
Awaits me with writing tools
And floating wine cups.
I sit in a quiet house,
Wondering what I should write.
04/24/2018
He wanders slowly
As if drunk or half asleep
Across my window.
First warm, then chilly, springtime
Is confusing for a bee.
04/25/2018
Spines in tidy rows
They wait for the right reader
To discover them.
There is no trove of treasure
To compare with a bookstore.
04/28/2018
How can it be that
The gingko is dressed in green
Instead of bright gold?
A strange warm wind dries the air;
The season is out of joint.
11/2/2018
After a full day
Attending a new Princess
I took the coast road.
Handfuls of stars vied with mist
To guide my path home again.
11/3/2018
The sun does not care
About numbers on a clock
She just treads the sky.
I shall miss my afternoons
As winter darkness holds sway.
11/05/2018
Even late at night,
The clouds go rosy with light
From the nearby port.
Ships from far away bring forth
And bear away their treasures.
11/05/2018
An afternoon breeze
Carries the scent of the sea
Through open windows.
I stop to admire the lap
Of those persistent blue waves.
11/06/2018
At last the maple
Changes into new attire
Of green edged crimson.
Yet the breeze is still too warm
By the calendar's counting.
11/07/2018
Again my eyes burn
With unshed tears as I rise
With the smoke stained sun.
I wait for news of my friends
While Paradise becomes Hell.
11/09/2018
Dammit, Facebook, I
Was actually trying
To read that item.
Please stop refreshing my screen
When I have not asked for it.
11/10/2018
It's eight forty one
On a Sunday night and I
Still must write today.
Head cold and heartache make for
Feeble poetry subjects.
11/11/2018
My day consists
Of all the duties no one
Else wants to deal with.
Left undone, these unseen tasks
Would quickly make themselves felt.
11/12/2018
With tales of heroes
Beloved by so many,
He taught and amused.
Storytellers are heroes
As much as their creations.
11/12/2018
For Stan Lee
Far away fire stirs
A fog that reddens the sun
And hides the city.
That stinging veil is woven
With the threads of blackened dreams.
11/15/2018
Too many dark days
Have I spent huddled inside,
Restless and twitchy.
At least there is enough tea
And reading to catch up on.
11/17/2018
The garden next door
Is ragged and overgrown,
And drowning in leaves.
Yet the vines are not quite done
Yielding the odd tomato.
11/18/2018
All I did was sit
For a moment, not knowing
I would surrender.
Naps are much underrated,
Yet their power is stealthy.
11/20/2018
Come sweet, blessed rain!
Wash the world with your cool scent
And sweep down the gutters.
Leaves gleam like precious gemstones,
Scattered about underfoot.
11/21/2018
Wherever you are,
And whoever you are with,
Have a lovely day.
A holiday is special
No matter how you spend it.
11/22/2018
The metronome drip
From the eaves is hypnotic
In quiet moments.
I have tea and a good book
Until sleep takes hold of me.
11/23/2018
It's such a pity
To have wasted the weekend
With a pesky cold.
I got little enough done
And drank so very much tea.
11/25/2018
Rain hisses outside,
Rushing down the gutters in
A noisy whisper.
There will be mud tomorrow
Where they are building houses.
11/28/2018
Copyright 2018 Lisa A. Joseph