Renku Sessions

The Renku Sessions: New Calendar 5

renkuchainWelcome to The Haiku Foundation’s Fifth Renku Session: New Calendar. I am John Stevenson, leading my second Kasen (36 verse) renku on this site. We will be trying something a little different this time. Instead of making all of the selections myself, new verses will be selected by the poet who wrote the preceding verse. This will be on a voluntary basis and I remain ready to preform this task for anyone who prefers to pass up the opportunity.

Our verse five selection has been made by Maureen Virchau. Here is her report:

“Greetings, everyone! Thank you for all your creative and diverse verses. It’s quite amazing to see all the places we could go with this renku.

I’ve chosen Dru Philippou’s enchanting verse.

sound of a flute
slowly rising
with a hazy moon

      –Dru Philippou

I was immediately drawn to its emphasis on sound. I love bringing another sense into the renku. I also enjoy this verse for its clear link, innovative shift, open-endedness, haiku-like essence, and deep sense of spring. I think the flute is an absolutely perfect instrument to include in a spring verse. Light and airy and delicate. Just like the warm breeze of the previous verse. This gentle wind has become the sound of a flute, an instrument which falls in the woodwind category. I hear the flute, I see the moon, I breathe in the exquisite air which can only be spring.

Thank you very much, Dru, for your wonderful verse. And thank you, John, for this opportunity to switch roles. It was quite challenging, as well as quite fun! I would also like to take this opportunity to thank you for all that you do for THF and the haiku community. All your hard work is greatly appreciated.

With gratitude,
Maureen”

Thank you for taking up the challenge, Maureen. And everyone for such lively and creative participation. Congratulations, Dru.

Dru Philippou will be offered the opportunity to select the next verse. Dru, please contact me, either in a reply below or by e-mail (ithacan@earthlink.net) to let me know whether you accept this offer. If you do, I will ask you to choose the next verse in accordance with the requirements listed below and to write a paragraph or two about your selection and send it to me on Wednesday morning (February 8) so that I can incorporate it in the next posting, which appears on the following day. If you would rather not make the selection, I will do so, but I would prefer to know that I’ll be doing that as early as possible

Verse six will be written in two lines and will be non-seasonal.

It must link to the fifth verse (and only the fifth verse) but it also must clearly shift away from it in terms of scene and subject matter.

It will conclude the opening section of the renku (the jo, or the first six verses), so it is to be somewhat formal in tone and not dealing in strong emotions or controversial subjects (e.g. politics, religion, illness, warfare, current events).

You will have until Tuesday night to make your offers. The Haiku Foundation site has been busy lately and the link to our renku session has not always been obvious on the home page. There is a permanent “Renku Sessions” button a little further down the home page and you can always reach the current session via this route. We will continue to check for new verse offers through each Tuesday.

With best wishes to all,
John

 

 

New Calendar to Date

new calendar
a year of
“Natural Wonders”

      –John Stevenson

a clownfish offers
the first greeting

    –Peter Newton

taking a fistful
of freshly tilled earth
to my cheek

    –Shrikaanth Krishnamurthy

café aromas
on the warm breeze

    –Maureen Virchau

sound of a flute
slowly rising
with a hazy moon

    –Dru Philippou

This Post Has 90 Comments

  3. sound of a flute
    slowly rising
    with a hazy moon
    .
    our cat’s paw dangles
    over the fish pond

    1. Oh no, I’ve just realised I’ve mentioned fish again after Peter’s ‘clownfish’ – sorry, Dru. I must learn to read all the verses rather than just the last one! 🙄

      marion

  4. sound of a flute
    slowly rising
    with a hazy moon
    .
    all eyes on the jellyfish
    at the aquarium

  5. sound of a flute
    slowly rising
    with a hazy moon
    .
    (BTW a lovely verse, Dru)
    .
    they request a bedtime story
    from the Chronicles of Narnia

  6. sound of a flute
    slowly rising
    with a hazy moon
    .
    a fawn in a hurry
    passes the lamppost

  16. a spoonful of honey
    stirred into lemon tea
    .
    .
    clear golden honey
    stirred into lemon tea

  17. a pair of glasses
    lies broken on the floor
    .
    .
    a pair of eyeglasses
    shattered on the floor

  19. a cool- matted silvery bed;
    but no dreams

    _

    from

    Poet- Wen Tingyun
    Title -She sighs on her jade lute
    300 Tang Poems an anthology from the Chinese Tang Dynasty

  21. a cool- matted silvery bed;
    but no dreams

    Wen Tingyun
    She sighs on her jade lute
    300 Tang Poems

  25. sound of a flute
    slowly rising
    with a hazy moon
    *
    she sips apricot nectar
    through the thicker straw

  26. sound of a flute
    slowly rising
    with a hazy moon
    ~ Dru Philippou
    .
    .
    I feel for the rhythm
    of the train track
    ~ Betty
    .
    .
    .
    Again, a lovely verse chosen…😊

  29. sound of a flute
    slowly rising
    with a hazy moon
    .
    –Dru Philippou
    .
    bare bottoms bob
    above the billow
    .
    Shrikaanth Krishnamurthy

  30. sound of a flute
    slowly rising
    with a hazy moon
    .
    –Dru Philippou
    .
    blowing the years
    off a photograph
    .
    Shrikaanth Krishnamurthy

  31. sound of a flute
    slowly rising
    with a hazy moon
    .
    –Dru Philippou
    .
    a kid running down
    the up escalator
    .
    Shrikaanth Krishnamurthy

  32. sound of a flute
    slowly rising
    with a hazy moon

    *

    at sunset the lone road
    webbing across mountains

    1. OR

      sound of a flute
      slowly rising
      with a hazy moon
      *
      the lone road at sunset
      webbing across mountains

  34. sound of a flute
    slowly rising
    with a hazy moon
    –Dru Philippou

    …

    their picnic spread
    beside a running stream

  35. sound of a flute
    slowly rising
    with a hazy moon
    –Dru Philippou

    …

    the new bridegroom
    toasted in boutique ale

  36. appealing visuals, greetings, smells, touch, sound…I’m enjoying the flow all of these verses, thanks!

    Marietta

  37. Congrats, Dru. A lovely verse.
    Theresa

    sound of a flute
    slowly rising
    with a hazy moon

    –Dru Philippou

    *****

    crossing at the corner
    a blind man’s cane

  38. The musicality of Dru’s verse was very appealing!

    ***
    a lad in mickey ears
    imagines beyond…

    or

    the ferris wheel mechanic
    peddles ear plugs

    2. ahem … please excuse my Tontoism in this:
      —

      “all of ballet troupe
      en pointe ”

      !!! dunno how I missed that! It was meant to be:
      —

      all of the ballet troupe
      en pointe
      —
      – Lorin

  44. A very lovely verse, Dru, and an excellent choice, Maureen. 🙂
    .
    sound of a flute
    slowly rising
    with a hazy moon
    .
    –Dru Philippou
    .
    gazing at the mirror
    she sees someone else

      1. or even:
        —
        painting by numbers
        with a red sable brush
        —
        . . .though I’d say that the tone of that version, for the ‘jo’ section, would be inappropriate. 🙂
        – Lorin

  49. nicely done!
    .
    sound of a flute
    slowly rising
    with a hazy moon
    –Dru Philippou
    .
    ***
    the sculptor’s rhytmic strokes
    shape a block of marble

  53. sound of a flute
    slowly rising
    with a hazy moon
    .
    –Dru Philippou
    .
    the cobra slithers back
    into its bamboo basket
    .
    – Shrikaanth Krishnamurthy

  54. sound of a flute
    slowly rising
    with a hazy moon
    .
    –Dru Philippou
    .
    more bird-splat than grooves
    at the Parthenon
    .
    – Shrikaanth Krishnamurthy

  55. sound of a flute
    slowly rising
    with a hazy moon
    .
    –Dru Philippou
    .
    covering every hole
    with a blob of plaster
    .
    – Shrikaanth Krishnamurthy

  56. sound of a flute
    slowly rising
    with a hazy moon
    .
    –Dru Philippou
    .
    everything crystal
    in a daydream
    .
    – Shrikaanth Krishnamurthy

  57. sound of a flute
    slowly rising
    with a hazy moon
    .
    –Dru Philippou
    .
    doing a quickstep
    to the nut’s syncopations
    .
    – Shrikaanth Krishnamurthy

  59. Hi, John,

    I am happy to take on this challenge! Thank you for the opportunity.

    I would also like to thank Maureen for her wonderful insights into my verse and for her other comments which have furthered my knowledge in the renku form. This includes John, Peter and Shrikaanath and their careful selections. And, thank you Marilyn Potter.

    Thank you for all the poets that participated and I look forward to reading your work.

    Dru

    3. You’re very welcome, Dru. Thank you for your kind words. Wishing you a marvelous experience!

  60. sound of a flute
    slowly rising
    with a hazy moon

    –Dru Philippou

    eyelids become heavy
    at the end of the day

Comments are closed.

Back To Top