Autumn tanka challenge

[Please Delete]

11/14/11

A red sea of lights
Painted with a single stroke
Leads back to my home
Fallen leaves beside the road
Pale near thoughts of mountain snow.


11/15/11
A single stray leaf
Stuck to the back of the cart
A lone passenger;
What business have you today,
That you must speed by so fast?

[Saionji Shonagon]

It's not yet midnight
As I climb the stairs humming
Snatches of Handel.
A night of opera and
My head is full of eighth notes.

(Actually, that should be sixteenth notes, but I didn't like what I had to do to get the syllables to flow.)

[Saionji Shonagon]

11/17/11

Never was there shade
As restful and gentle as
That you lent in summer.
Though autumn winds tear your robes
It will be springtime again.

(Inspired by the Handel aria "Ombra mai fu," essentially a love song to a shade tree.)

[Saionji Shonagon]

11/18/11
Angry clouds contort
Themselves, driven by hard winds
Off a cold ocean.
Impatiently they wait to
Ambush me with lashing drops.

[Saionji Shonagon]

11/19/11

Instead of brush strokes
I write my poor intentions
With needle and thread.
My forebears copied the sutras,
I must take another way.

[Please Delete]

11/19/11 (out of order--the others are awaiting typing in from a notepad)

Parrot and peacock
Mix with peaches and raisins
In the west market
All the world has arrived
meeting in the Capital.

[Saionji Shonagon]

Window frames rattle
As shingles echo with the
Drumming raindrops.
I wonder, would a new house
Sound the same way when it rains?

[Please Delete]

11/17/11
The dark robes of night
Are pulled over the rooftop
Painting o'er the sky
A lonely lamp still flickers
As my brush quickly dances

11/18/11
Amongst your neighbors
Bathed in the sun's golden light
You stand proud and tall
How must we seem but like ants
Rushing about here and there.

11/20/11
Braziers' smokey fire
No longer lights the darkness
Yet dawn is not come
Too many and too long nights
Have come and gone these past days.

[Saionji Shonagon]

11/21/11

A pale wisp of moon
Floats like a feather in the
Cold sky before dawn.
My feet feel heavy as I
Go out to begin my day.

[Please Delete]

11/21/11

Four sentinels stand
Guarding faithfully our dreams
Those silent watchers.
Naked though they may still be
Their duty they yet perform.

[Saionji Shonagon]

11/22/11
The moon hid from me
As only a few stars peeked
Through reaching branches.
Faced with a dark sky, I tried
To recall being in love.

[Saionji Shonagon]

11/23/11

Melting brown eyes and
Whipping tail greet my return
Though he never barks.
My neighbor's dog makes up for
Not having one of my own.

[Please Delete]

11/22/11

In this dew drop world
Sakura blossoms replace
Sturdy pine needles
What might we accomplish here
While awaiting the morning.

11/23/11
The gentle lapping
Of waves upon the Blue Sea
Is heard from afar;
Carried throughout the courtyard
On the strings of the zither.

[Please Delete]

11/22/11

In this dew drop world
Sakura blossoms replace
Sturdy pine needles
What might we accomplish here
While awaiting the morning.

11/23/11
The gentle lapping
Of waves upon the Blue Sea
Is heard from afar;
Carried throughout the courtyard
On the strings of the zither.

[Saionji Shonagon]

11/24/11

A gracious table,
Children and dog underfoot,
We laughed and feasted.
In this dewdrop existence
Is much to be thankful for.