Tanka for Autumn

the autumn woods

leaves drop with a slowness

in the long shadows

unspoken woods of love

between us

gathering leaves

I can’t decide which to toss

pressed between

waxed paper

they still fade

reaching upward

the heavy limbs of the maple

dimmed by the mist

the eternal patterns of autumn

spread before me

Tanka Society of America

Bottle Rockets

Anglo-Japanese Tanka Society Journal