drifting toward falls,
a leaf twists & pivots
-- as if frantically --
as if to avoid the fall,
then slips over & glides.
Vortex Drop [Tanka]
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Tag Archives: tanka
Two Rivers Merge [Tanka]
two rivers merge:
the smaller, lighter branch
seems shut out, but
the bigger river moves
onward a lighter shade.
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The Dao Keeps Rolling [Tanka]
one character, Dao,
looks like a road that rounds
some great attraction,
but keeps moving onward
to undiscovered country.
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Breeze-Free Beat [Tanka]
the eternal flame
lunges this way and that;
then -- for an instant --
it stands symmetrically:
only one breeze-free beat.
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Low Light [Tanka]
the color blobs
cast onto floor & wall
by stained glass light
are brightest just before
the sun drops out of sight.
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Ancient Landscape [Tanka]
ancient landscape:
boulders, remnants of mountains,
are strewn about;
prehistoric tribes lived here,
and it looked the same for them.
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Cherry [Kyōka]
some are made speechless
by falling cherry blossoms,
but -- for others --
speechlessness comes from
a mouthful of the fruits.
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Ride by Night [Kyōka]
a little bird,
on a bit of driftwood,
speeds downriver
in the dusky, fading light.
doesn’t it know it can fly?
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Mountain Time [Tanka]
an ancient mountain,
weathered to rubble,
stands background
to a city that's lived
but a blip of mountain time.
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Cormorant Patience [Kyōka]
the cormorant,
glistening & dripping,
must air dry
before it’s a bird again;
humans cramp in the pool.
Tiger Riding for Beginners 