Autumn tanka(waka) challenge

[Deleted]

Return home to find
half the lights off and sparking
wires near the roof.
All is OK, problem found,
but contractors are jokers.

[Yeah, so this problem has always had a mysterious wiring house. Everything's OK as long as the system is well grounded, although probably we're sending power straight from the mains to ground. We didn't think about the fact that the water main repairs would disconnect the house ground long enough for everything to freak out (On the plus side, now we know the breakers function well.), or that the plumbing contractors (The jokers in question) would just wrap the ground wire around the new copper pipe instead of clamping it properly.]

[Saionji Shonagon]

I have one answer
To those who say we must face
Hatred with more hate:
It is braver to face fear
And be a light in darkness.

[Ki no Kotori]

The little boy bawled
At the death of his kitten
Raw, terrible sobs
"Will they think I'm a sissy
If I cry at school today?"

[Deleted]

The joke is on us.
Electrical problems suck.
Our house lights flicker.
Power strips spit soot and smoke.
Did not sleep so well last night.

[Please Delete]

November 13
After falling asleep thanks to jet lag, then waking up an hour or so later

Sleep comes too quickly
When you think you are still in
Those far foreign lands.
Awakening to darkness
Why am I now so alert?

November 14
Feeling silly

This nonsense you wrong
Poem but are way. Reading to
May that reading You
Seem is it should from bottom
Like 'cause the try top instead.

November 15
Looking at a beautiful crescent moon

Hanging in the sky
The moon is like a drawn bow
Without an arrow;
A makura kotoba
Brought beautifully to life.

November 16
The top verse was written courtesy of Swype's autosuggest

The Tower is nice
I'm going to see people
Who could be so good.
So there you have a poem
Written by my Android phone.

November 17
Trying to write late at night is hard!

I waited too late
Now, my head is full of fog
And I can't think
Fool! I have only myself
To blame for this tragedy.

November 18
Gingko in the fall

A yellow carpet
Lies beneath a naked tree
While the deer cry out;
Cool and breezy morning air
Is so brisk upon the skin.

November 19
Faith

Ephemeral truth
Without substance, yet concrete--
One reality;
Enduring as memory
As fragile as rhetoric.

[Deleted]

In my new job, folks
listen when I speak, and the
things I say sound smart
when I hear them coming out.
Is this what respect feels like?

[Ki no Kotori]

The air tastes of snow
A distant memory stirs
Of what was once home
Of steep, white-covered bluffs and
The echoes of the church bells

[Saionji Shonagon]

We sit in darkness,
Drawn in by a tale told in
Moving light and sound.
Though faced with many trials,
This time our hero triumphs.

[Deleted]

So nice to wake up
beside my love and open
the windows to a
bright red morning sun and the
promise of a busy day.

[Ki no Kotori]

In only a day
The bare branches greet me where
Maple leaves once hung
So the first freeze has fallen
I can see it in your eyes

[Saionji Shonagon]

The hills are so brown
They seem faded and empty
After a hard summer.

I look in vain for rain clouds
In a sky empty of them.

[Deleted]

Spring cleaning early,
though chill winds only begin.
Toss it or move it,
becomes the household mantra.
So many things to sift through.

[Kagami Tomoko]

11.14.15 - (A hike through The Presidio, San Francisco, CA)
Through a winding wood
Past the eucalyptus hall
The cypress spire spoke
What man endeavors to make
Nature will always take back

11.15.15 - (Dreaming of breakfast before the sunrise)
Banana and toast
Honey and peanut butter
Open faced sandwich
Simple in execution
And a delicious breakfast

11.16.15 - (Riding the train home from work, way past my bedtime)
Stars will pass us by~
On the Milky Way express~
We are unafraid!
Comfort lies with our journey,
Not cosmic destinations.

11.17.15 - (In reference to a board game. Anyone else play Pandemic Legacy?)
How could this happen?!
Beyond this cruel deck called life,
You were still with us.
Rest in peace Doctor Yolo
Our quarantine specialist.

11.18.15 - (I'm exhausted at this point as I've been covering for people out on vacation thus my brain is mush. That said, I got a promotion!)
I do not recall
My first thought in the morning
Or the night before
So I go about my day
Forgetting to buy shampoo

11.19.15 - (In response/a call to action for Americans to live up to the words of The New Colossus)
Our moment is now
Unimagined challenges
Will rise to meet us
But ultimately become
Tomorrow's victory lap.

11.20.15 - (In running late on the poem, I cobbled this together at the last minute. When I tried to upload to facebook, it didn't post. The irony!)
Such disappointment
In my time management skills
And yet there is bliss
Like bitter-sweet chocolate
In fresh baked home style cookies

11.21.15 - (Pre-Thanksgiving feast with friends at this new home deep in Boulder Creek. So delightful).
My goodness the trees!
How tall they grow together
With long winding roads
Leading to a friendly feast
Where apple pie is best pie

[Saionji Shonagon]

Seriously, James?
Who texts at six fifteen on
A Sunday morning?
Himeji is beautiful
But so is a good sleep-in!

[Please Delete]

November 20
Getting ready to merchant at Stierbach's Holiday Faire

Silk and foreign song
Mingle in the marketplace
Amidst strange incense;
The crying of the merchants
Barely heard over the din.


November 21
Aftermath of Holiday Faire

The bustle of crowds,
Friendly faces all around,
A happy ending;
Exhaustion is much better
When it comes from having fun.

November 22
On texts that go nowhere

Reconsidered words
Typed out but never sent forth
To preserve the Wa.
Is an argument really
More important than friendship?