The Renku Sessions: Pampas Grass – Week 2
Hello, everyone. I am John Stevenson and I will be your guide in this twenty verse nijûin renku.
Here is my short list for the wakiku. Note than none of these contains an internal break:
moonlight on a long-pile throw
draped over a rocking chair
the hats of an elegant man
and a scarecrow
Urszula Marciniak
A rocking chair carries forward the nods and bows of the hokku. The status implied in different hats compares to the natural topping of the pampas grass. For me, it invokes the “lilies of the field” from the sermon on the mount.
a glint of moonlight
off the broken cup
Richard Straw
Haiku often feature the beauty of humble and even damaged things. A broken cup is a frequently used example. As a wakiku, this would playfully suggest that the poet is a broken cup, beatified by the moonlight of the hokku’s author. That’s hilarious since Richard is also the author of the hokku.
pond-side dragonfly
here and there
Robert Kingston
An example of linking by viewing the scene of the hokku from a different angle. And the darting of the dragonfly carries forward the nods and bows.
rhythmic undertones
through the long night
Carol Jones
This carries us forward in time while acknowledging that the movement of pampas grass is part of something larger, all of which is in motion.
the butler’s boy dares
to eat a peach
Lorin Ford
This takes the role of humble host to somewhere unexpected. Shades of T. S. Eliot?
a row of stone lanterns
to mark the way
Michael Henry Lee
This is also a potential extension of the scene; from the natural wetland to a formal garden. The row of lanterns ahead of us parallels the verses to come.
a welcome pear
for each guest
Pauline O’Carolan
A gift that is both humble and deeply meaningful.
the salmon and I
are leaping
Tracy Davidson
Eager to be moving on from nods and bows!
rosy apples peek
through the mesh bag
Valerie Green
Also, a humble offering. Here are the ripe fruits of the harvest – red apples – from one who is merely green, Valerie Green.
guests mingle over
bowls of nuts and seeds
Laurie Greer
And, yet again, humble gifts. This time with a hint that the poet’s friends are themselves like mixed nuts.
dusk ushers in
an autumn rain
Margaret Anderson
An extension of the hokku scene that focuses on a shift of mood.
all that’s implied
by moonlit gestures
M. R. Defibaugh
This would be the perfect prelude if the next verses were to be love vesess.
A hard choice this time (a good thing). I’m going to go with:
the salmon and I
are leaping
Tracy Davidson
So, what we have, so far is:
Pampas Grass
pampas grass
greetings followed
by nods, bows
Richard Straw
the salmon and I
are leaping
Tracy Davidson
This week we will be writing daison (third verses). They will consist of three lines and must contain the moon or moonlight. Note that the mention of the moon or its light is sufficient, in itself, to establish this as an autumn verse.
The daisan will link subtly and indirectly to the wakiku and take us forward to some clearly unexpected image(s). At the same time, this and all four of the opening verses of this renku are part of the “jo.” As such, they will contain no harsh, unpleasant or overtly emotional material.
As I have said previously, there should be no more internal breaks. From now on, the space between verses is where juxtaposition takes place rather than within individual verses.
Please send up to three of your verses before midnight on Monday, November 16 (eastern US time). My comments and selection will appear here on Thursday, November 19th.
Looking forward to seeing your daisan offers, where the renku will truly begin!
John
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