Tanka 01

春を向く
てるてる坊主
彼のえみ
晴れる日で見て
残して泣こう

haru wo muku
teruteru bouzu
kare no emi
hareru hi de mite
nokoshite nakou

my first attempt to write a tanka

Before Death

If it is so that my days are numbered
I promised to live it full
Reaching out to share the love
With a smile I shall do it all

Though I yearn to live longer
To see more of the beauty of Creation
In the years I have lived
I had a glimpse of it all

My days are surely numbered…
I shall live each day warming hearts of others
That would swell mine and burst forth
To others, and find joy in living

To my friends who are dear to me
In pain and joy I thank you all
My family – my life and my inspiration
I leave you with blessings and comfort

To acquaintances whom I shared life with
You made me realize that it is indeed possible
And to my love… The love of my life
In time we’ll journey on the same road once again

Leaving this world I wish to see no other face
But of smile and laughter
Of hope that one day we will be reunited
Once more, in a place eternal.

The Crow

Ark! Ark! says the crow
Perched upon a leafless tree
Looking for something I cannot see
Maybe his lover or just a company

Ark! Ark! it goes on and on
Black against the plain of snow
Searching the vastness of the frozen desert
Desperate of something only he knows best

The sun came up and shadows dissapear
The river flowed like a joyous cavalier
He finds his place in an icy green
Of a nearby flock of which he’s not in

Then shadows chased the setting sun
A day almost over yet he can’t find one
The one who’s lost yet unforgotten
The one who promised but now unseen

Ark! Ark! to the night he cracks
He find his shelter on the edge of a rock
It offers no comfort but a shelter at least
Of another biting cold night in the company of none

Ark! Ark! wishpers the crow
In a voice so tired, deep and low
If I could only see his eyes in the darkness he belongs
There will be tears but he won’t show.

Borrowed

Silver lights
That is all I see
In this corner of the room lit by an artificial light

A music is playing
And my heart beats to its slow rythm
Staring blankly at the ceiling
That turned into a movie screen
That made the past so alive, so real

Wish I could go back in time, I wonder
Back when my innocence was not tarnished
Back when childhood dreams are a joy to achieved
Back when I wanted to be old

I wish I could find the answer to every tomorrow
To this journey in a road unknown
But tomorrow never exist they say
Only today and yesterday

Back to the silver lights that never played
To my unblinking eyes that never strayed
With these thoughts that swayed like a pendulum
I hug my pillow tight
Tighter so I will stay in the present
And ease the biting cold of winter

On my bed I lay alone
Thinking
Just thinking
Of my borrowed life, of my borrowed time.

Take Courage

It is heartwarming to know that someone cares
That someone listens despite who you are
Despite the flaws that you try to hide
But shows up eventually

In the years when you have to take courage
And be strong amidst the piercing eyes of people
It is amazing how you can stand up
In the pool of shame that people think of you

But sad to know that some are not strong enough
For the may have not given enough time
Or space
Or even shelter
For them to be at peace with their hearts
And for once take courage to face the day
Of a world full of hate and hypocrisy

But you are not alone
For I may be on the other side of the world
But our hearts are as one
Beating the same language that they can’t even understand
And when they can’t follow its rhythm
They start to shoot arrows and push daggers
For we are not one
With them

If they could only understand
If they could only feel the way we feel
If they could only be in our shoes
If they could only be

But they can’t
But they aren’t
So they will never do
They will never be.

So let us not waste tears for sorrow but for joy
Rejoicing the day that we can survive
And live the way we are
Who we are
For who knows when our time has come
And may God bless it
We are glorified with Him in heaven
For the faith
And the fruit of it
And when it’s all done.

Take courage, you are not alone.