The Renku Sessions: 12 Tones – Musical Chairs, Week 12
Welcome to THF’s Renku Sessions. I’m Lorin Ford, acting as sabaki/ guide for this renku.
***
The 12th verse: ah, Shirakawa
***
Musical Chairs – a Junicho Renku
musical chairs
a handful
of hot chestnuts
– Keith Evetts
the one left standing
chats up the scarecrow
– Clysta
a road sign
points in the direction
of the Monument
– John Daleiden
are we
there yet?
– Curt Linderman
winter moon
dripping from
the shelter tent
– Fatma Zohra Habis
a warm cup of tea
for the newcomer
– Hla Yin Mon
ready
with a love potion
just in case
– Laurie Greer
first spring gust
and the silk robe opens
– princess k
evening star
just in time for
the frogs frogs frogs
– Orense
a kite frolics
this way
and that
– Rob Barkan
a thousand pilgrimages
was it left or right?
– Joseph Kitagawa
one man
and his horse
on the road to Shirakawa
– Carol Jones
*************************
On first glance it may seem that the man and horse in Carol’s verse could be on a pilgrimage of some kind, but that’s not likely. The answer is in the name of the region: Shirakawa.
In the kiyose we’ve adopted, Higginson’s ‘The 500 Essential Japanese Season Words’, ‘pilgrimage ‘is classified as an ‘all Spring’ kigo/ ‘season word’. As Joseph’s verse 11 shows us, the speaker (perhaps exaggerating a little) has been on many pilgrimages over the years but, coming to a fork in a road that he’s travelled so many times, can’t recall which way to go. This traveller is not likely to be on a pilgrimage in the present. The thousand pilgrimages are in his past, so can’t be taken to be a kigo/ season reference. The roads are there all year around. There is no seasonal reference here, in Joseph’s verse.
In an amusing link to Joseph’s verse, Carol’s man and his horse know quite where they’re going: to Shirakawa. A little research shows why Shirakawa might be an attractive place to visit: it is high in the mountains, so not muggy and it has interesting, ancient-type architecture. Shirakawa a popular Summer visiting place for holiday-makers and tourists.
“Shirakawa-go, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Japan’s Gifu Prefecture, is known for its colorful flowers in the summer. The village’s hydrangeas, sunflowers, and other flowers bloom in the humid, fertile soil, creating a picturesque setting for the traditional gassho-zukuri houses.”
There is no seasonal reference in Carol’s verse, as the man and his horse are climbing the road to Shirakawa but are not there yet. Excellent researching, Carol, resulting in a generous opening for our last verse, the ageku.
Our final verse, our ageku, will be a two-line Summer flower verse. Do a bit of googling if you like. It won’t be difficult to link to Carol’s verse.
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Short List for week 12 (in no particular order)
in the saddle bag
a worn copy of
the narrow road
– Melissa Dennison
***
an oxbow
where the path
used to be
– Diana Ming Jeong
***
my old horse
ahead of me on the path
to enlightenment
– Orense
***
choosing
the road
less travelled
– Dan Campbell
***
the poor horse
right in the middle
of the roundabout
– Pamela Garry
********************
Our next verse, the ageku (our final verse) will be a two-line Summer flower verse that links to Carol’s verse.
I look forward to reading all of your ageku verses.
*****
The submission deadlines will be Sundays, midnight Eastern US time.
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Comments (106)
Comments are closed.
at midday the sunflower
casts no shadow
a lavender mandala
heightens their senses
A fitting selection, Lorin—well done, Carol!
Alas, I didn’t manage to submit as I had a big birthday yesterday, but I look forward to seeing the selected ageku.
Thankyou, Marion.
happy belated birthday, marion!
have you blown off
half a century
of sunflower petals
.
then it’s time for a birthday poem!
Thank you, Wendy. A half a decade + ten lol
Happy Birthday Marion! A big birthday comes across to me as an important one. May your future birthdays be as well, and may there be many of them.
Thank you, Lorin—my 60th. 😳 I still don’t believe it ! When I told my siblings that I have decided to grow old disgracefully they said, “what’s new!” 🙄😄
Happy Birthday Marion! 🎂
Thank you, Diana!
leaving sunflower fields
but not their fairy tales
leaving sunflower fields
but not their countless fairy tales
sunbeams shining
through the sunflowers
Diana Ming Jeong
sunflowers waving
in the fields
the gold rush
of sunflowers
the gold of sunflower fields
as far as the eye can see
gilding the horizon
sunflower fields
the horizon golden
with sunflower fields
one man
and his horse
on the road to Shirakawa
– Carol Jones
sunflowers flying
around the merry go round
memories of sunflowers
to a calliope tune
sunflower fields
forever
Diana Ming Jeong
“merry-go-round”, “calliope tune” and
“sunflower fields
forever”
I’m hearing the tune and the song, Diana, :-) ‘The Fool on the Hill’, sung by Paul McCartney. . . round and round and . . .
But, unfortunately, I can’t see a link to Carol’s :
one man
and his horse
on the road to Shirakawa– Carol Jones
…and the ageku does need to link to the immediately previous verse,
Lorin,
I couldn’t get back in time for the deadline but I’m here for some advice.
one man
and his horse
on the road to Shirakawa
– Carol Jones
memories of sunflowers
on a calliope wagon
Diana Ming Jeong
Lorin,
I have not heard that song by the way. :) Unfortunately, well depends on how you look at it, we were cleaning the house and the balconies to clear off the ash and dust from the fires. It was a busy day. I did have sunflowers on my mind! And we had dinner and I came back to the site and I saw your note, but alas… late again! Not only that! I missed it. I don’t get notifications that I received a reply to my comments. I have to search for my name. Does anyone get a notification? If so, how!?! … Well I still wanted to try and there it is. Let me know if I got a link. If not I’ll try again. Thank you Lorin!
– Diana 🙏
I wouldn’t worry about it, Diana. You sent some excellent verses before the deadline, and they did link. :-)
I just happen to like that Paul McCartney song. :-) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Hlw_9ldThs
It’s hypnotic. He was an excellent songwriter. Nothing to do with this renku, so it was probably misleading that I mentioned it.
And there’s nothing wrong with allusion in poetry (including renku!) Note that John Stevenson understood my ” ah, Shirakawa ” up top. :-) It’s a play on/ recognition of Basho’s :
“matsushima
aaah! matsushima
matsushima… ” —Basho – https://steemit.com/haiku/@dbooster/ah-matsushima-haiku-of-japan-68
(Tr. David LaSpina)
====
(I don’t get any notifications. I am not at all technologically adept, either, unfortunately )
There are fires here, now, too, but luckily for me, not in my area. The region I lived in as a young person is all on fire again. Americans call those sort of fires “wildfires”. Australians call the same thing “bushfires”. “Tomaytoes/”Tomahtoes”.
Hi Lorin,
I am glad you are not in the area of the wildfires and I am also sorry that the region you lived as a young person is on fire again.
You did get my reference to The Beatles though in
sunflower fields
forever
😃
For the merry go round 🎠 … I was trying to conjure the feeling of Hayao Miyazaki’s “Howl’s Moving Castle” and the song “Merry-Go-Round of Life”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pQKqQ9sG50
And the beautiful flowers in Howl’s secret flower garden
https://www.tiktok.com/@takanenohana__/video/7126953222647926017
Even though “The Fool On The Hill” has nothing to do with this renku, I am happy you brought it up!
Because it helped me write this whether it links or not, late or not.
memories of sunflowers
on a calliope wagon
or maybe this…
recalling the sunflowers
in the moving castle
Cheers!
Diana
To confirm, I know it is late! Not, not. :)
Also, yes, it is a lovely tune by Paul!
thatched roofs and
sunflowers nodding
tea ceremony
amongst the hydrangeas
flag irises line the route
to our destination
a warm bed
pyjama print sunflowers
blue skies
greet a sea of sunflowers
the hum of bees surrounds
wisteria blossom
the black eyes of sunflowers
winking
red rhododendrons bloom
around the gassho
on the table
a single hydrangea bloom
resting as bees busy themselves amongst sunflowers
one man
and his horse
on the road to Shirakawa
– Carol Jones
sunflowers
at the night market
sunflowers
passing by
Diana Ming Jeong
Today was (still is) Sunday the 2nd February in Victoria, Australia and I’m pleased to report that, despite a temperature high of 39 degrees Celsius, today, I’m still here, despite not having air conditioning. I am wearing my silk robe, inside the house, and am thankful for it.
Tomorrow & Tuesday are predicted to be over 40 Celsius, but having survived today (using the ancient method of frequently hosing myself down with the garden hose in the back yard. . . ) I’m thinking that, since I’ve survived today, I’ll be able to survive another couple of days and make a final report on this renku and send it to John S. around the usual time.
There are fires raging throughout the continent. Not in Melbourne, yet, so crossed fingers,
Happy versifying, all you lucky, cool Northerners!
Sorry to hear you have to resort to ancestral methods lol but at least they are proven ;-)
fingers and toes crossed! Lorin.
yes, stay cool in that silk robe….it always works for me!
No news of Australia’s fires…..on regular USA news channels….
maybe they don’t report it if no human lives are lost!
Wendy, these news reports are usually relatively local. I hadn’t heard anything about the American fires (on my very trustworthy ABC News TV) so I’m not surprised you haven’t heard of the Australian fires (and floods, further up North) All I hear on the news from America (the USA) is political stuff. Scary political stuff, involving the current (and past) President.
Lives are lost, whether it be from fires or floods, and brave people do their best to help the situation.. I know there have been fires in California, but that’s only through comments here. I really don’t know the range of these USA fires.
I’m typing this from 8:09pm. 3rd February, Australian Eastern Standard time.
(way past the submission time)
Lorin,
Fires in Eaton Canyon and Pacific Palisades are now both 100% contained as of Friday Jan 31.
https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2025/1/7/eaton-fire
https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2025/1/7/palisades-fire
We had snow in Eaton Canyon last week.
This week tonight we will have a rain storm.
https://ktla.com/news/california/heres-when-tuesdays-rain-will-arrive-in-southern-california/
I hope you are able to cool off over there!
-Diana
Strange days indeed, Diana!
one man
and his horse
on the road to Shirakawa
Carol Jones
*
the easy bob of
water lilies at anchor
*
mimosa petals growing
with the bees
*
bathing in the scent
of the milk white magnolias
*
still life with irises
comes alive
blue irises
keeping the flame alive
white lotus
washing the dust away
Snap! my face
on a sunflower stem
one man
and his horse
on the road to Shirakawa – Carol Jones
sunflower seeds
rattle in my pocket
nanosecond view of sunflowers
from the train window
sending sunflower postcards
to my Eskimo friends
brushing sunflower petals
from my passport
nanosecond view of sunflowers
from the train window (Dan Campbell)
—
from the train window
fields of sunflower gold (Dan + me)
Thank you for collaborating with me on a poem Lorin!
honeysuckle and sweet pea
painting the houses (new)
a welcome mat
of sprawling sweet peas
a welcome mat
of cornflowers and poppies
in the summer meadow
the ma between poppies
a scattering
of paulownia petals
selfie with
a sunflower
the soft scent of hydrangeas
resting by the pond
making an offering
at the shrine hydrangea blooms
leaving a pink hydrangea bloom
by the shrine
surrounded by sunflowers
thatched roofs point skywards
collecting sunflowers
a mulberry leaf in her hair
yellow sunflowers in the distance
at the dam tranquility
Congratulations Carol a beautiful and evocative verse! Great selection, Lorin, as always.
a patch of sunlight
under the mandarin blossoms
at last the coolness
of mandarin blossoms
won’t you come and see
the blossoming kiri tree?
come and see
the blossoming kiri tree
at last hydrangeas
complete the rainbow
hydrangeas
waiting by the gate
on the menu
courgette flowers
pickers waving
with courgette flowers
the gate overflowing
with hydrangeas
hydrangeas
climbing the fence
even on the thatched roof
poppies in bloom
even on thatched roofs
poppies in bloom
no rush the summer meadow
lends a pillow
even on the thatched roof
a poppy blooms
Oh and thank you for including me in the short list :)
Thankyou, Orence.
she says courgette
and he says zucchini . . . :-)
one man
and his horse
on the road to Shirakawa
– Carol Jones
come sit with me
underneath these sunflowers
Cheshire cat
daydreaming in the sunflowers
Diana Ming Jeong
one man
and his horse
on the road to Shirakawa
– Carol Jones (a lovely verse!)
butterflies and hydrangeas
touching
butterfly and hydrangea
singing the blues
one man
and his horse
on the road to Shirakawa
– Carol Jones
blue hydrangea
among the daisies
blue and pink hydrangeas
among the daisies
sunflowers
puppets under the sun
sunflowers yield
to a day sun
sunflowers strangers with names
i met on this journey
sunflowers strangers with names
on this journey
I can’t stop superimposing
your face on these sunflowers
one man
and his horse
on the road to Shirakawa
– Carol Jones
time for a picnic
beneath the sunflower blooms
time for a picnic
in this sunflower field
let’s stop here
in this sunflower field
sitting beneath
the sunflower blooms
sitting in the shade
with the sunflowers
Diana Ming Jeong
sunflowers in a role play
puppets of the sun
sunflowers yield
to a summer’s day
sunflowers no longer
strangers on this journey
standing by a sunflower
wishing you were here
standing out
in a field of sunflowers
taking a selfie
next to a sunflower
one man
and his horse
on the road to Shirakawa
– Carol Jones
finally
the sunflowers are in bloom
finally
the sunflowers are blooming
Diana Ming Jeong
one man
and his horse
on the road to Shirakawa
– Carol Jones
finally
we see the sunflowers
finally
the sunflowers bloom
Diana Ming Jeong
Keep on, with your flower verses. Sunflowers and hydrangeas are perfect for the location. But
whatever flower you choose, my advice is to keep the verse simple, don’t overload it, don’t try to squash too much in, don’t try to be clever.
one man
and his horse
on the road to Shirakawa
– Carol Jones
aiming towards the shade
of a magnolia tree
Andromeda’s flower buds
beginning again
cascades of flower buds
all over Andromeda
Andromeda
about to bloom
cascading buds
all over Andromeda
Pamela, I like your:
Andromeda
about to bloom
but as far as I can tell, (or discover on the internet) is a Spring bloomer (or late Winter or early Spring). Our flower verse for this renku will be a Summer bloomer.
Keep it for another renku, where the season will fit.
one man
and his horse
on the road to Shirakawa
– Carol Jones
soldier’s buttons
surround the trail
one man
and his horse
on the road to Shirakawa
– Carol Jones
fireflies feast
on a buffet of sunflowers
Diana Ming Jeong
fresh-faced sunflowers
follow the sunlight
one man
and his horse
on the road to Shirakawa
– Carol Jones
sunbeams play
between the sunflowers
facing the sunflowers
facing the sun
sunflowers hide
and seek
sunflowers
turning heads
returning home
to find sunflowers
towering sunflowers
emerged from seeds
the children have grown
into sunflowers
Diana Ming Jeong
Alternative to my last one in this group.
one man
and his horse
on the road to Shirakawa
– Carol Jones
the children have grown
as tall as the sunflowers
the children stand tall
with the sunflowers
And another submission.
reminiscing about the sunflowers
we started from seeds
Diana Ming Jeong
one man
and his horse
on the road to Shirakawa
*
Carol Jones
*
fresh lemongrass tea
asteep in the sun
*
every petal the pride
of the dandelion picker
*
content for today
the cosmos stops expanding
zigzagging
through the zinnias
wild roses
welcome the weary
leading him
to water lilies
getting high
among the poppies
one man
and his horse
on the road to Shirakawa – Carol Jones
picking daisy petals
she loves me she loves me not
detours provide
the best views of daisies
one man
and his horse
on the road to Shirakawa——– Carol Jones
purple hydrangea
soak in horsehair raku
hydrangea pom poms
in a horsehair raku
one man
and his horse
on the road to Shirakawa
– Carol Jones
seeing the points
on blue flag irises
water runs through all
blue flag irises
arriving at last
blue flag irises
Congratulations Carol, I enjoy your verses and thank you Lorin for guiding us on this renku journey
a field of sunflowers
bending towards the vanishing sun
the road to nowhere
is lined with sunflowers
a sunflower
drinks the morning light
sunflowers bloom
along a forgotten path
a sunflower bows its head
on a fading day
sunflowers bloom
without askibg why
Another typo correction:
sunflowers bloom
without asking why
Thankyou, Dan, I enjoy reading your verses, also.
Also thank you for selecting me for the short list!
one man
and his horse
on the road to Shirakawa
– Carol Jones
playing hide and seek
between the sunflowers
Diana Ming Jeong
Congratulations Carol! Thank you Lorin! I learned something new! Again! Great selection!!!
one man
and his horse
on the road to Shirakawa
– Carol Jones
settling down
a sunflower faces east
Diana Ming Jeong
Thankyou, Wendy, Debbie, Joseph and Diana for your comments. They are appreciated.
A well written verse on this journey that is soon ending. A pleasant destination. Well done Carol and Lorin.
one man
and his horse
on the road to Shirakawa
– Carol Jones
salted sweetfish over coals
sunflowers greet the children
rice-planting songs
a row of pink primroses
Congratulations Carol and Lorin!
pausing to catch our breaths
by fields of lavender
one man
and his horse
on the road to Shirakawa——– Carol Jones
soaking up blues from
bouquets of a hydrangea
peeing behind the pink
turned blue hydrangea bush
Wendy, ‘hydrangea’ is a good choice for a summer flower.
Try a few more hydrangea verses if you can. The ageku is the final verse and I’m not keen on on the having a lingering scent of urine hanging around the final verse. (re the “soaking up blues” verse, I just don’t get it, but it feels a bit like a pun. )
bouquets of hydrangea
bubbling with hue
peeking behind the pink
turned blue hydrangea bush
LOL! Lorin, thank you for bringing my attention to this mistake!
Yes, most certainly, we would want the ageku to end on a happy note!
Congrats! Carol and Lorin….a perfect verse for this spot, love your wording and i admire the research you did behind them, Carol.
Lorin another perfect selection, (amongst the other 11 perfect selections you have made for this renku) and commentary for this verse.
one man
and his horse
on the road to Shirakawa ——–– Carol Jones
one man
and his horse
on the road to Shirakawa
– Carol Jones
tufts of summer grasses
dancing in the wind
the tallest sunflower
gently bowing
lost in a maze
of flowering grasses
one man
and his horse
on the road to Shirakawa
– Carol Jones
pausing to inhale
rank weeds
wild irises
as far as the eye can see
in time for the unfurling
of evening glory
wild iris arranged
for the artist’s muse
one man
and his horse
on the road to Shirakawa
*
Carol Jones
a line of poppies
nod hello goodbye
Kudos to Carol and our sabaki for this subtle verse.
Many thanks, clysta
one man
and his horse
on the road to Shirakawa
*
Carol Jones
*
a daylily one-ups
the glow of a goldfish
*
another cicada song
launches from a lily pad
*
fireflies coming on
with the evening primrose
*
a red -orange snapdragon
lights up the first fireflies
*
a firefly catches
on a purple snapdragon
*
“evening primrose”
Laurie, I have the tall, yellow evening primroses in my back yard. Actually, I’ve just come in from the yard. Since it’s around 8:30 am here, some of the florets are wilted and others are still fresh and open. I really like the scent. The bees love them. (There are many bees buzzing around out there.) I believe these evening primroses are native to California.
Of course it’s summer,where I am. Happily, the predicted temperatures for today and tomorrow are in the 20’s. After that, the high 30’s again.
Many thanks, Lorin for choosing my verse, and the informative write-up, I enjoyed the read.
I’m over the moon to have been included in this session lead by you.
Thanks again :)
An excellent verse, Carol. Kudos! It’s perfect for the spot! :-)
one man
and his horse
on the road to Shirakawa
12
above the kaki fields
the grasses full of flowers
walking uphill together
banks of exotic flowers
washed. in new clothes
a choice of ready dishes
Congratulations, Carol, on an inspiring link! Another great selection, Lorin!
one man
and his horse
on the road to Shirakawa
– Carol Jones
sunflowers line
the narrow path
lianas interweave
among small trees
hydrangea petals
on the bamboo hat
in the horse’s lips
a flower dangles
Thankyou, Richard.
Congrats Carol! A lovely verse. ;)
Thankyou, Melissa.
A tremendous verse, Carol. Lorin, thank you for pointing out so much I would have missed. I have learned a lot every week here–hard to think it’s fast drawing to a close!
*
one man
and his horse
on the road to Shirakawa
*
Carol Jones
*
bending to sip from the lip
of a lily
*
Thankyou, Laurie. I agree the weeks have gone by so fast.
I do hope someone will take up the baton to keep us going.
A delightful verse, Carol… it fits so well into the renku. Lorin, I enjoyed your commentary on Carol’s poem and on Shirakawa.
Many thanks, madeleine :)
Thank you, Madeleine, I’m happy you like and understand Carol’s Shirakawa verse. This kind of understanding is how we may process in renku.
Thanks Lorin…means a lot to me :)
one man
and his horse
on the road to Shirakawa
– Carol Jones (a lovely verse!)
many sacrifices
of floating duckweed
aiming towards
the shade of a tree
arriving in advance
of fallen evergreen leaves
Oops, none of these are flowers!
Thanks, Pamela