The Renku Sessions: Barely Time – Week 9

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1. mountain
   summoned
   to stay put

   08.15.2022 by wendy © bialek

2. a trapped miner
   daydreams of
   daylight

   08.15.2022 by wendy © bialek

   1. and:

      overworked miner
      daydreams of
      daylight

      08.15.2022 by wendy © bialek

      1. in case “trapped” brings images off prisoner in v-7 and victims of 9/11 trapped in buildings in v-2

3. snow moon
   rests on granite
   – Susan Grant
   ***
   no boats
   fisherman leans against
   the limestone wall

   heels on tile
   staccato replies
   to your proposition

   after dinner
   thoughts fold
   like linen napkins

   last evening
   my words
   become window fog

   Sunday brunch
   reading the page he
   coffee-stained first

   fossils
   foot imprints in
   worn slippers

   chai tea
   the song ends with
   changing topic

   running late
   a skip to avoid
   closing train doors

   insect legs
   carry fallen debris
   across granite

4. munchkin’s propensity
   to make mountains
   out of molehills

   08.15.2022 by wendy © bialek

5. Lovely concise verse, Susan. Congratulations.
   *
   they say hello
   to long lost ancestors
   at the grave markers
   *
   the heirloom plate
   holds a celebratory
   coconut cake
   *
   the mortar and pestle
   passed down another
   generation

6. john, now i am wondering if i have evoked images too close to 9/11 with some of my words/phrases like: pavement, drop to the ground, etc. if so, delete from my offerings for this renku.

   1. and john, i am wondering too, for the sake of learning…..would i be going too far out on a limb…if i saw a connection between “9/11” and “granite”? the dust debris from components of office and building supplies, people and vehicles fleeing on the streets covered in cement-looking powdery soot???? that has also stayed in my memory. { i had to cancel a surgery in a hospital a few blocks away…afterwards…as the air quality was still too unhealthy to breathe.

7. snow moon
   rests on granite
   – Susan Grant
   *
   the lilting strains
   of an oboist
   across the way
   – Betty Shropshire

8. eureka
   in the day’s
   dull pavement

   08.15.2022 by wendy © bialek

9. a monument
   of documents
   here in the butte

   08.15.2022 by wendy © bialek

10. even this butte
    convinced it’s
    a monument

    08.15.2022 by wendy © bialek

11. another immigrant
    drops to the ground
    with beauty

    08.15.2022 by wendy © bialek

12. a candle
    on the cake
    icing

    08.15.2022 by wendy © bialek

13. snow moon
    rests on granite

    the streets of London
    paved with the labour
    of my homeland

    1. For info: The Mournes are among the best granite mountains in Ireland, and granite quarries were a huge part of the Kingdom of Mourne economy. Mourne granite can be found throughout Ireland and England, including Belfast, Liverpool, London, and Manchester.

14. snow moon
    rests on granite

    these Liverpool streets
    paved by the quarries
    of home

15. snow moon
    rests on granite
    – Susan Grant
    *
    sounding off
    how a park benefits
    the inner city
    – Betty Shropshire

16. just for fun
    an extra-biblical
    flannelgraph tale

17. Good People : The horse in v 4 is now ‘Tortuga’ – a tortoise or a Caribbean island. This links it faintly to v3, but not to v5. This was the place I gave up contributing. Verses seem to be chosen for their curiosity or affective interest, but the principle of ‘significant juxtaposition’ is lost : so the choice, from the myriad suggestions, could be anything. Count me out

    1. It has been my experience that it is more difficult for poets to not see connections than to see them. As I have said, I believe I could find links between almost any set of images. There is no need to provide a definitive link between verses 4 and 5. There are many such. But I will share with you what I had in mind. Verse 4 suggests that naming creates expectations of reality. The horse, whether named “molasses” or “tortuga,” is presumed to have a nature that reflects the name, even though the name was probably given at birth or early in life. In verse 5 the fog takes on the nature of a scent and, immediately, is not just any fog but the fog that is imbued with the scent of pine. In the course of a renku, it is desirable to utilize a variety of linking strategies. As a result, some of the linking will be quite obvious and some of it will be missed, especially if the reader is expecting some theory of linkage to be evident in every instance.

    2. dick…the connecting link may
       sometimes look
       like it is blowing
       wildly in the wind
       but for me
       it can be the aha moment
       yet to come
       or the eureka effect
       which is just one
       of the many pros
       that keeps me growing and engaged
       in the art of renku.

    3. ” . . . Tortuga’ – a tortoise or a Caribbean island. This links it faintly to v3, but not to v5. ” – Dick

       Actually, a Caribbean island named Tortuga because it has a turtle-like shape, and there it is, seeming to swim in the sea. While all tortoises are turtles, not all turtles are tortoises. 🙂

       The link from Polona’s verse #5 to it’s prior verse (‘Turtle verse’), is, in my view, a ‘word link’, and that word is ‘borrowed‘. The name of the horse (Tortuga) is borrowed from the name of the island which was borrowed from the name of a creature, the turtle , because that island looks like a turtle. Polona’s fog “has borrowed its scent/from the pines”. It’s a clever and witty link, in my view, and was so when the horse’s name was ‘Molasses’, so no changes were needed to Polona’s verse.
       (But John’s description of his understanding of the link between Polona’s verse and Dan’s is quite different to mine, it will be noted. )
       .
       However, I haven’t a clue as to how the revised verse #4 links to Tracey Davidson’s immediately prior verse (verse #3). What has the island Tortuga to do with ‘forgetting’ or with a baby in the backseat?
       In the original, Dan’s verse linked to my wakiku (therefore committing the great sin of ‘uchikoshi’/ return to last-but-one) by it’s use of a name/ proper noun.

       John’s final solution to that problem was to dispose of my proper noun (& the ‘Earthrise’ event) and insert “9/11” in it’s place, which allows Dan’s verse to retain a proper noun, albeit a different proper noun than the original ‘Molasses’.

       Playing the sabaki role isn’t easy, and John is by miles the best sabaki in all ways that we’ve had at The Haiku Foundation. I don’t envy the sticky business he’s had to make his way through to get this renku back into balance.

18. bone white roots
    in the anthropocene
    asphalt

    tinkles
    of laughter
    at the runoff

    watching
    greyscale news
    on color television

19. snow moon
    rests on granite
    —Susan Grant

    downstream
    the turbid river
    conceals city mud

    the seven dwarfs
    tell the boss to do
    her own whistling

20. snow moon
    rests on granite
    — — —

    my footfalls echo
    under the angels
    scrutiny
    ***
    my cat drops
    the garden pebble
    a successful hunt
    ***
    my flute at attention
    with bated breath
    as trumpets blare
    ***
    crimson sun dawning
    on an empty mountain tomb
    Excalibur released
    ***
    mountains shift
    and diamonds crack
    as Atlas shrugs
    ***
    I leave a stick
    for the stone dog
    guarding generations
    ***
    wax wings
    light as a feather
    falls like a stone
    OR
    wax wings
    light as a feather
    he plummets
    ***
    the Underworld watches
    as the stone rolls away
    Again
    ***
    under the bed
    she stashes her treasure
    of shells and seaglass
    ***
    brushing dust away
    from bones
    framed in stone

    1. Ivy,

       mountains shift
       and diamonds crack
       as Atlas shrugs

       I love it…a reference to Ayn Rand’s Magnum Opus! It works for me!

21. .

    snow moon
    rests on granite – Susan Grant
    .
    updating
    the billabong
    backpackers

22. snow moon
    rests on granite
    Susan Grant
    .
    a dusting
    of chilli flakes to top
    ricotta pizzas
    .

    ( chilli / chili — tomahtoes / tomaytoes )

23. snow moon
    rests on granite – Susan Grant
    .
    the baker’s
    meringue pie specials
    almost sold out

24. snow moon
    rests on granite – Susan Grant
    .
    news of the cruise ship
    still anchored offshore
    goes viral
    .

25. snow moon
    rests on granite
    – Susan Grant
    *
    sounding off
    about the ocean’s
    plastic island
    – Betty Shropshire

    1. To get rid of the link to Tortuga as an island, am revising to:
       *
       sounding off
       about the ocean’s
       plastic

26. snow moon
    rests on granite
    ——Susan Grant

    .

    runes lie hidden
    in the grain
    of a mountain cherry

    .

    far from home
    a forest erratic broods
    in silence

    (* An erratic is a large boulder picked up by a glacier or ice sheet and sometimes transported hundreds of miles. When the ice sheet retreats the erratic is left behind.)

27. Congratulations Susan

    snow moon
    rests on granite
    – Susan Grant

    the crunch
    and squeak
    of her hobnailed boots

28. snow moon
    rests on granite
    – Susan Grant
    ****

    the telescope
    found a planet
    made of diamonds
    *****
    the telescope
    found a planet
    sized diamond
    *****
    refugees on some
    planets weep tears
    made of diamonds
    *****

29. Congratulations Susan! Lovely verse.

    snow moon
    rests on granite

    – Susan Grant

    .
    the pauses
    in her words
    echo with sound
    .
    a sudden screech
    of car tyres throws up
    a fine dust
    .
    cleaning clay
    ornaments bit by bit
    for colour
    .
    propping
    the broken globe
    on the table
    .
    filling the small
    crater near the gate
    with rubble
    .

30. snow moon
    rests on granite

    Susan Grant

    –
    unknown species
    in the ordovician
    fossil strata

31. it’s got a backbeat
    you can’t lose it
    any old time you use it

    1. Forgot about ‘time.’ Oh well.

32. hard edges
    rounded
    by the mason’s chisel

33. snow moon
    rests on granite
    – Susan Grant
    *
    the kerplunk
    of a skipped stone
    making ripples
    – Betty Shropshire

34. snow moon
    rests on granite
    – Susan Grant
    ****

    aborted takeoff
    on a pot-holed
    runway
    ****
    lava flowing
    across the airport
    runway

35. snow moon
    rests on granite
    – Susan Grant

    ******

    how fast
    the octopus shape-shifts
    into coral

36. vultures circling
    like kites
    above the volcano
    ****
    applauding
    the harmony
    of hyena howls
    ****
    trees growing
    from cracks
    in the mountain
    ****
    more hearts
    than chimneys
    are made of stone
    ****

37. snow moon
    rests on granite
    — Susan Grant
    *
    a little oil
    on the whetstone
    to sharpen the chisel

38. snow moon
    rests on granite
    –Susan Grant
    .
    adding
    herbs and spices
    to stone soup
    .
    the sidewalk
    made of slate
    from local quarry

39. an artist
    leaves the oil rig
    out of the painting

    a whisper
    of forgotten lines
    behind the scenes

    1. or:
       the artist
       leaves an oil rig
       out of the landscape

40. the screech
    of teacher’s chalk
    on the blackboard

    a little dandruff
    and they’re yelling
    for the chairman’s scalp

    a soppy poem
    in the hope of
    stopping tanks

    she’ll be coming
    round the mountain
    when she comes

    the woodcutter’s son
    is a chip
    off the old block

41. Congratulations Susan.

    snow moon
    rests on granite
    — Susan Grant

    dividing
    dark from light
    a bird’s song

    1. a birdsong
       dividing light
       from shadow

       a myna bird
       continuing
       the same song

       1. the bird’s song
          out of shadows
          into the light

42. i wake up
    an enso
    inside my inkstone

    08.11.2022 by wendy © bialek

    1. or:

       i wake up
       an ensō
       inside my inkstone

       08.11.2022 by wendy © bialek

43. a lovely verse, well done Susan!

    and already some great candidates for the next position 👍

44. snow moon
    rests on granite – Susan Grant
    .
    how peaceful
    until our dormant mountain
    begins to growl
    .

45. rub granite
    emerge from war
    darken the horizon

46. snow moon
    rests on granite
    – Susan Grant
    *
    papier-mâché props
    come alive
    as the music swells
    – Betty Shropshire

47. survive or
    release
    keep energy

48. keep sharpening
    will shine like
    diamond

49. walking barefoot
    we take each other
    prisoner – Jonathan Alderfer
    .
    snow moon
    rests on granite – Susan Grant
    .

    the huge cruise ship
    for weeks at anchor
    offshore
    .

    morning’s rhythm
    in the thuds of pestles
    hitting mortars
    .

    an adage re stones
    for people still living
    in glass houses
    .

    1. Whoops, not “morning” after our hokku’s “night”, I think. So, a replacement:
       .
       snow moon
       rests on granite – Susan Grant
       .
       waking to the thuds
       of pestles grinding spices
       in mortars

50. snow moon
    rests on granite
    — Susan Grant
    ****

    dreaming about pastures
    in a hut
    made of cow dung

51. snow moon
    rests on granite
    *
    Susan Grant
    *
    refurbishing
    an overused
    worry stone
    *
    the serenity
    that makes a case
    for the worry stone
    *

52. snow moon
    rests on granite
    *
    Susan Grant
    *
    summarizing the plot
    of the Wilkie Collins
    classic
    *
    sketching the plot
    of the Wilkie Collins
    classic
    *

53. snow moon
    rests on granite
    *
    Susan Grant
    *
    reciting the Pledge
    of Allegiance
    on the flagstone path
    *

54. snow moon
    rests on granite
    *
    Susan Grant
    *
    stone washed jeans
    still the height
    of fashion

55. snow moon
    rests on granite
    *
    Susan Grant
    *
    reading the fine grit
    of the eloquent
    sandstone
    *
    always believing
    his birthstone
    was a mood ring
    *
    gritting their teeth
    against the whirling
    sandstorm

56. now moon
    rests on granite
    Susan Grant
    ————————
    her agile hands
    a tablet for the almost
    dying
    **
    ritual
    gathering all leaves
    for dead

    *****
    her new mantra
    in the stuck up
    elevator

    black boards’ dust
    on her head still unable
    to solve problem
    *****
    search in the heap
    of clothes and kerchief
    needle and thread

57. I know
    it’s only rock ‘n roll
    but I like it

    I see a red door
    and I want to
    paint it black

    1. I should have checked out all the Paint It Black lyrics which include ‘summer’ and ‘love’

58. next up
    velvet paintings
    of celebrities

59. with each visit
    a new display
    of colorful quilts

60. sheep use
    stepping-stones
    to cross the river

    or

    sheep
    use a bridge
    to cross the river

    1. sheep use
       stepping-stones
       to cross the river
       .
       🙂 hey Carol, how about goats? I’ve seen this, clever devils that they are:

       goats use
       stepping-stones
       to cross the river

61. from the eyrie
    nothing but
    a silken sea

    a bald eagle
    finds loneliness
    at the summit

    a new war
    gives the globe
    another shake

    fellow feeling
    for the squid that failed
    an ink blot test

62. snow moon
    rests on granite
    — Susan Grant
    *
    hot stone yoga
    to soothe away
    the stresses
    *
    the bow
    moving gracefully
    across a violin
    *
    strands of wool
    where the goat rubbed
    against the cromlech

    1. love the second one, and the way it introduces sound/music to the mix

       1. thanks, Polona!

63. snow moon
    rests on granite
    —-Susan Grant
    .

    a hawk overhead
    a rabbit in the yellow gorse
    and all is well
    .

    temple bells
    green with ghosts
    lie in the dust
    .

    a sandcastle
    washed away by
    the incoming tide

    carpenter ants
    and dry rot attack
    the foundation
    .

    the hollow sound of river
    rocks as they roll down
    to the sea

64. a chiseler a cheat
    but first and foremost
    a liar

    back to the future
    for another
    box of rocks

    an object on the sofa
    remains
    on the sofa

    laying claim
    to a field
    of fool’s gold

65. the trophy
    melted down for silver
    leaves a nameless plinth

    how to value
    the unnamed sculptor
    by a single work

    unrequited wishes
    for the fountain’s
    silver coins

66. lichen creeps
    across the slab
    without a word

    the urge to scrawl
    I was here
    on the cairn

    hot rock
    at the herpetologists’ ball
    gets ’em going

67. his last curling stone
    knocks mine
    off the rink

    the rock and roll
    radio station
    cuts transmission

    her old rocking chair
    still rocks
    when we’re not looking

68. beautiful source
    with colorful environment
    and the breeze

69. a goat
    on the fence post
    solid as

70. the instability
    of alpha and beta
    particles

    08.11.2022 by wendy © bialek

71. sound shifts
    of to-do
    to must-do

    08.11.2022 by wendy © bialek

72. Congratulations, Susan. I, too, think your moon verse works very well. 🙂

73. on top of that pile of stones
    there is a painting
    roses and a poem

74. Beautiful !!
    Bravo dear Susan!!

    snow moon
    rests on granite

    Susan Grant

75. Congratulations Susan, a lovely verse. It has the classic simplicity and silence that allows your mind to wander around in it. I see the same qualities in some ukiyo-e woodblock prints of snowbound mountains.

76. Thank you John, I am quite moved to have this chosen and thank you for the kind comments from you all.
    I started thinking of mountains and their endurance, snowdrifts then the delights of moon in snow. It came down to my image of the moon cupped in rocks, currently as snow but ready to melt into the next season.
    I also thank Jonathan for his verse that set me off on this thread.

77. snow moon
    rest on granite
    -Susan Grant

    the relevant pauses
    in the closing
    argument

    intervals of silence
    players tuning
    the page

    in the absence of sound
    my meter key
    has changed

78. Congrats Susan, that is such a sublime verse.

    fresh white sheets
    smoothing out the wrinkles
    on her skin

    *

    at quarry lake
    breezes flutter
    police tape

79. ooops!! can’t use time’s. it’s in the title !!!!!

    their chiseled features
    worn away
    by nature’s caress

80. twisted steel
    and jumbled rubble
    their cenotaph

    their poem
    dense with
    crystalline images

    passersby
    seldom notice
    the cenotaph

    their chiseled features
    worn away
    by time’s caress

81. snow moon
    rests on granite
    — Susan Grant
    ****
    apologies dear mom
    for stepping on
    those sidewalk cracks

82. a rough slab
    of ceramic clay
    becomes fine art

    08.11.2022 by wendy © bialek

83. the dog
    on the deck looking
    like a gargoyle

84. snow moon
    rests on granite

    Susan Grant

    a stream
    of consciousness
    in the rub of quartz

    08.11.2022 by wendy © bialek

85. snow moon
    rests on granite

    Susan Grant

    silent flames
    in mother’s
    opal ring

    08.11.2022 by wendy © bialek

86. Congrats Susan and muchas gracias John

    snow moon
    rests on granite
    — Susan Grant

    ****
    tasting
    salty sea
    on a sinking ship
    ****
    singing while sinking
    is how I
    want to go

87. Congratulations Susan, and thanks always, John!

    new countertops
    begging
    to be used

    *

    the kitchen
    renovated
    just as she imagined

    *

    the kitchen
    renovated
    after the fire

88. thank you john, for your comments and guidance.
    and picking a beautiful moon verse.
    (yes, i knew that the mood…clouded the verse with
    human touch….but i couldn’t resist posting it and
    sharing it with group.) thank you for your feedback.

    a wonderful, eloquent edition to our renku, susan….congrats!
    will open up many directions.

    snow moon
    rests on granite

    Susan Grant

    multi-coloured mica
    marbles my
    shampoo bar

    08.11.2022 by wendy © bialek

    the multi-faceted
    talents of our renku
    sabaki

    08.11.2022 by wendy © bialek

89. snow moon
    rests on granite

    Susan Grant
    *
    urnes and
    reliques adorn
    a door
    *
    an angel
    and her cherubs
    in shadow
    *
    arm in arm
    shrouded figures
    guard the way
    *
    engraved
    on the walls
    the dead
    *
    on the wind
    a dissipating
    hymn

90. Congratulations, Susan.

    Thank you for pausing on some of mine, John.

91. Congrat, Susan!
    *
    snow moon
    rests on granite
    – Susan Grant
    *
    booyah scissors
    cuts
    paper!
    – Betty Shropshire

    1. or :

       booyah! scissors
       cuts
       paper
       *
       (unsure if inserting an “!” after booyah creates a cut so offering the verse both ways)

       or with just:
       *
       scissors
       cuts
       paper

92. row upon row
    of soldiers’ names releasing
    blood from their stones

93. skimming stones
    across the lake
    into the heavens

94. walking around
    the old stone circle
    in the tracks of stars

    1. tracking round
       the old stone circle
       in hand with venus

95. grandfather tells me
    how it feels to choose
    your own headstone

96. Thanks, John, for the shout out, and it works. One two-liner here was converted and accepted this week.
    Congratulations to Susan Grant. Truly a lovely winter moon verse.

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