Paper boat and drizzle tanka

1/
tell me, owl
about nothingness
under this roof
a sheer monotony
of midnight drizzle

2/
love
is sacred
lightly
he sends a paper boat
down the river

What's left tanka

what's left
by the rain today
this chill
i feel on my skin
you on yours

Ordinary love haiku and tanka

1/
crescent moon--
the midnight's chill
down to the root

2/
you gave me
no ordinary love
by the campfire
too much warmth
to freeze in time

Loveboat haiku and tanka

1/
he decided to paddle
his loveboat to distant shore
and his vow
was about returning to grow
trees for nesting birds

2/
cornerview
birdbath
birdless

3/
gecko's voice--
secretly counting
her fingers

4/
wingbeat of bats
and so falls the night
dressed in black

5/
love, like life
will find a way
don't ask
why i cover my face
with layers of rain

Growing older tanka

the art of
growing older--
this is why
she calls herself by
her first name

Single dad tanka

you'll never know
how hard it is to be
a single dad
think about the sparrows
hold up the winging

Strange love song tanka

sitting alone
how strange it sounds now
our love song
in this moment  last year
i didn't want to get drunk

Downpour of butterflies tanka

driving uphill
thru the downpour
of butterflies
we shed tears for
misplaced childhood

First published in A Hundred Gourds 2:2 March 2013
http://ahundredgourds.com/ahg22/tanka01.html

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

Kitchen tanka in wordle

Kitchen tanka

1/
washing out
the grayness of you
i hold dear
down in the sink
this turmeric yellow

2/
the main ingredient
of all good dishes
is love
she recalls once in a while
her daughter's face

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

The birds and the tree tanka

1/
too much argument
to win about loyalty
and love? what love?
ah, look! the pine we planted
welcoming the birds to nest

2/
how long the drought
will it be in our marriage?
before the first rain
we know the baby birds
flying off the bare tree

Tanka tepian hujan 2

:Chandra Prijosusilo

1/
gerimis pagi
membanjiri sarang burung
kosong dan dingin
terasa sungguh ranjang ini
terlalu besar untukku

morning drizzle
taking over the bird nest
cold and left out
i eventually realized
this bed too big for one

2/
terjaga semalam
oleh suara gerimis
kusimak seksama
keluh dan gelisahnya yang
tak terucap, tak tertulis

woke up last night
to the sound of light rain
i was all ears
to her griefs and sorrow
unspoken, unwritten

I build a fortress tanka

i build a fortress
to keep the darkness away
o my wintry days
can you see my thoughts
meandering along broken dreams

Thin cloth tanka

how can you find
me, with puzzled mind
under the canopy
you merciless stare
pierces my thin cloth

Tanka tepian hujan

: Chandra Prijosusilo

1/
di luar jendela
dedaunan menangkup
bening embun
dari hujan sesiangan
senyap merayap-rayap

2/
bulan menyabit
di pucuk rumpun bambu
sepanjang malam
hanya siulan angin
menggema di tiap ruang

A fence around tanka

a fence around
our house to keep it out
anything but us
your dream of wandering
my poem, my lost love

Seeking true love; two tanka

1/

seeking

true love

peel by peel

of her

onion

2/

make love to me...

she embraces me in

warmest kiss

i run out of breath

run out of my self