Roll the dice tanka

my dad taught me
how to roll the dice
on sandy soil
now I live the life
of an orphan

First published in A HUndred Gourds 2:2 March 2013
http://ahundredgourds.com/ahg22/tanka12.html

Twisting the hands of Socrates, four tanka

Sometimes, I challenge my self just to get new poetic ideas. And this afternoon, I thought randomly about popular quotes of great people and I suddenly fell into Socrates. I am not really into philosophy but reading his quotes has sparked the ideas I desired. Most quotes transformed into these works are here http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/s/socrates.html

1/
life unexamined
is not worth living
as always
you don't let me
leave our treehouse

2/
will you marry me?
it's been years after I do
i find it
too hard to convince you
that poetry suits me fine

3/
leaving
this tall building
at noon...
only to see the clouds
letting my shadow darken

4/
picking the gray
out of my hair
curiously
she asks me how
to trim hate and desire

Midday drizzle haiku and tanka

1/
whirlwind
cut hay takes
another turn

2/
a silent flight of
yesterday grasses in
midday drizzle

3/
there's always an end
of seasons, love and life
the trees, you and I
calling for the rain to revive
the spirit of dead leaves

Life's light haiku

life's light
anything to worry about
a click away

Thru the rapids tanka

1/
thru the rapids
the river runs endlessly
how tempting!
this adventurous life
in the darkest poetry

melintasi jeram
sungai ini mengalir tanpa henti
betapa menggoda!
hidup yang penuh tualang
dalam syair paling gelap

2/
walking in
shallow water at night
the coldness crawls
the way you stop talking
the way you start yelling

berjalan di
sungai dangkal malam hari
dingin yang menjalar
saat kau berhenti bicara
saat kau mulai berteriak

Solem promise, tanka sequence

1/
spend the week end
with doing quiz
in a puzzle book
nothing i really know about
but living a simple life

lewatkan akhir pekan
dengan mengisi kuis
di buku teka-teki
tiada yang kutahu kecuali
hidup sebagaimana adanya

2/
i write a poetry
about the rain of july
the words we had
widen the hollow in between us
where nights are much colder 

kutulis puisi
tentang hujan bulan juli
semua pembicaraan
menambah ruang kosong antara kita
di mana malam terasa lebih dingin

3/
it's still there
a solemn promise to keep
in our minds
we talk intimately
and sleep back to back

tak hilang
janji suci yang dirawat
dalam hati
kita bicara begitu intim
dan tidur beradu punggung

4/
can you hear
a meow at the door?
in the dark
i'm drown in my thought
you in your dream

kau dengarkah
suara kucing di pintu
dalam gelap
aku tenggelam dalam fikiranku
kau dalam mimpimu

5/
no talk
no dispute
about divorce
we forget when it was
the last breakfast for two

tak bicara
tak bertengkar
tentang perceraian
terakhir kali sarapan berdua
entah kapan itu

Easy life haiku

easy life
an alley cat stretches
a while longer

Choir of dew haiga

Harry's haiku*

troubled life
show me how to safe myself
will you, Harry?

hidup sulit
ajari aku cara untuk lepas
maukah, Harry?

*A homage to Harry Houdini. Today is his 137th birthday.

Justified killing tanka

my breakfast milk
spills along microscopic trail
are you justified
to take live to save
live

susu sarapanku
melimpah sepanjang jejak renik
bolehkah
membunuh untuk
menyelamatkan nyawa

Ant haiku 5

don't tell me
not to bite more than i can chew
:ant's life

jangan cegah aku
menggigit terlalu besar
:kehidupan semut

When dream and tide collide

Mahogany seed haiku

bitter life--
he strives to swallow
mahogany seed

hidup yang pahit
ia berusaha menelan
biji mahoni

Paddy field tanka

in the paddy field
scattered seeds
sprout
the smell of life
fades in the air

berkecambah
benih tertabur
di sawah
aroma kehidupan
menipis di udara


Wedomartani, March 14, 2010