Renku Sessions

The Renku Sessions: Rendezvous – Week 6

 

renku_300

The Renku Sessions continue on The Haiku Foundation. I am Patricia Machmiller and I am honored to be your guide for an eighteen-verse renku, in which we will compose one verse per week until completion.

Hello, everyone. Another week as life becomes more and more surreal. I have been thinking of the poet whose wish for a friend was “may you live in interesting times.” And then there was another who cautioned, “be careful what you wish for.”

This is the thirteenth day that many of us in Northern California have been sheltering in place. Spring is emerging—the exuberance of California poppies is a visual delight—and yet hanging over everything is this invisible threat. Trying to reconcile those two feelings in the same moment is very jarring.

But we are lucky to have a renku to distract and entertain us. I very much enjoyed reading your offers this week, and also your repartee.  I admire the vibrant online community you have, and I appreciate the generosity you show one another.

Here is the list of verses that I thought of as possibilities for the moon verse:

 

contemplating
my navel
in moonlight

*

the company
of a lone moon
sliced by bamboo

*

the tangled swirl
of a marble earthrise
from the moon

Wendy C. Bialek

 

the wind blows
clouds swirling
around the moon

*

just enough light
from the moon
to find our way

Andrew Shimield

 

moonlight
spilling over
southern plantations

Betty Shropshire

 

the director
cuts
to the harvest moon

*

a moon beam
strikes a-cross
on the home bound liner

*

the moon
circling
a water hole

Robert Kingston

 

the full, full moon
rising
on our tiptoes

Kiti Saarinen

 

appetites stir
beneath
a full moon

Carol Jones

 

scarecrows and
moons are the best
listeners

*

mwangaza wa mwezi
shines down on
baobab trees

*

moonlit tombstones
hear more confessions
than priests

Dan Campbell

 

his stirring soliloquy
in the moonlit
amphitheatre

*

admitting
he’s partial
to a first quarter moon

*

climbing the hill
steeped
in moonlight

Laurie Greer

 

taking no small comfort
with what the moon
has to offer

*

pulled this way
and that by the
light of the moon

*

moon shadows
swirling in the
crystal ball

Michael Henry Lee

 

upturned caps
of acorns filling
with moonlight

Kristen Lindquist

 

after the hunting
a wounded deer recovers
under the moonlight

Vasile Moldovan

 

its open space
out of balance
sickle moon

Clysta Seney

 

sometimes the full moon
shows us reality
without an ounce of sugar

Margherita Ptericcione

 

across the fence
floating between firs
a whole moon

Carmen Sterba

 

in a cookie sheet
all stages
of the moon

Angiola Inglese

 

 

Of these verses I found two to be irresistible—both by Dan Campbell:

scarecrows and
moons are the best
listeners

*

mwangaza wa mwezi
shines down on
baobab trees

 

I found the verse with the Swahili phrase for the light of the moon to be so striking, I would have done somersaults to make it link to the tea verse. But somersaults failed. However, Dan’s scarecrows verse has an elegant, subtle linkage that is very pleasing. Often, we have tea alone, but many times we have tea with a friend—a tête-è-tête with someone we can confide in. The suggestion of having a tête-è-tête with a scarecrow or the moon is brilliant, and the fact that the hyphenated phrase, tête-è-tête, echoes in structure “half-and-half” while being only alluded to and not explicitly stated is even more delightful.

And so, here is our renku after five weeks:

 

rendezvous —
snowshoes piled high
outside the sauna                             Sally Biggar

an antiphonal greeting
of one wolf to the others                 Mary Kendall

the jury still out
on gray
vs grey                                             Laurie Greer

a little half-
and-half in my tea                            M. R. Defibaugh

scarecrows and
moons are the best
listeners                                            Dan Campbell

 

And now for our sixth verse. I have felt the group’s urgent desire to write about the difficult times we are living through. Usually we would wait until verse seven to open up the renku to discussion of catastrophic events such as the Covid 19 virus or the Australian wildfires. But these are strange times and so I think it appropriate to break the rules here; I will consider verses on these subjects for verse six. This verse should link to the fifth verse, but have no connection to the fourth verse. The requirements for this verse are:

  • a two-line poem of fourteen syllables or less
  • this is an autumn verse. (Note: wildfire is an autumn subject; Covid 19 is nonseasonal—at least for now.) Avoid four-legged animals and musical references for at least the next three verses. Avoid the mention of colors for the next four verses, no beverages for the next five, and no celestial references for six verses.
  • a single syntactical structure flowing over three lines

Please enter your verses in the comments box, below. I will be reviewing these offers until midnight on Tuesday, March 31 (California time zone). On Thursday, April 2, there will be a new posting containing my selection for the sixth verse, some discussion of other appreciated verses, and instructions for composing the seventh verse.

I do hope all of you stay safe and healthy. Look after yourselves and after each other. I look forward to seeing what’s on your mind!

Patricia

 

This Post Has 212 Comments

    1. Wendy, your poems are so clever and pointed. Took me some time to figure out your vent reference; never heard that abbr before. Being a birder I was very confused. 😉

      1. thank you so much for that compliment! clysta.
        before this epidemic crisis became a headline, i had a strange visit on my kitchen window. a praying mantis stayed two days upside. a wouldn’t leave…like the others that are always passing through. i found myself talking to him and writing many poems about . i always felt he was warning me of something that was going to be bigger a than anything that i have ever witnessed in my lifetime. so…i rendered one poem to fit this for this renku verse.
        .
        i love birds, too. i don’t know if i qualify as a birder.
        .
        thank you for taking the time to look up that vent is another name for ventilator.

  2. scarecrows and
    moons are the best
    listeners
    .
    Dan Campbell
    .
    on the flip side
    of a PPE shortage
    .
    a dummy in residence
    at the PPE office

    1. scarecrows and
      moons are the best
      listeners
      .
      Dan Campbell
      .
      at the clown factory
      a new face for autumn

  6. autumn pantry
    filled with jars of hope

    *
    at the autumn gates
    who can hear me now

  7. in the deserted street
    whirlpools of leaves

    ******************

    burning in the eyes
    slicing an onion for mushroom sauce

    *******************

  8. banjo players
    social distancing experts
    ##########
    face masks
    improved my love life

  9. the ‘my pillow’ man
    didn’t sleep on it

    *

    sleeplessly turning
    his round pillow into a flat mask

    *
    owls question the witch
    in the dark sleepy hollows

  11. scarecrows and
    moons are the best
    listeners
    .
    when a cough was still
    just a cough

    1. Hmmm I forgot that this is an autumn verse … I’m guessing coughing is a winter kigo?

  12. Congrats Dan, you know you’re doing well when the final verses are both yours! A conversation with the moon is indeed in compliance with stay-at-home orders.
    ***
    morning glory
    on her pillow
    *
    she knew which mushrooms
    could kill a man
    *
    biting a persimmon while
    reading Dracula
    *
    bagging the leaves
    in silence
    *
    follow the road
    buried in leaves

  13. Oak trees feel
    Fall coming in May
    #######
    some voyages
    are worth the shipwreck
    ########
    wind swept
    weeping

  15. scarecrows and
    moons are the best
    listeners
    .
    Dan Campbell
    .
    the world economy sinking
    in the cracks of a petri dish

  16. bullet train widow, nanosecond
    view of blossoms
    ######
    seatbelts are
    not designed for urns
    ######
    state wide quarantines
    cause starless nights
    #######
    my dog’s grave
    will have more visitors than mine

  17. .
    scarecrows and
    moons are the best
    listeners
    .
    .
    during homeschool she places
    her dolls six feet apart
    .

    1. Please disregard the verse above. In its place:
      .
      .
      for Mother Goose Time she places
      her dolls six feet apart
      .
      .
      (Mother Goose Time is a pre-K homeschool curriculum.)

  20. scarecrows and
    moons are the best
    listeners
    .
    Dan Campbell
    .
    a tissue in an old rhyme
    about roses

  24. scarecrows and
    moons are the best
    listeners
    *
    Dan Campbell
    *
    treating habitat like its ours
    we pay for our tricks
    *

  25. scarecrows and
    moons are the best
    listeners
    .
    Dan Campbell
    .
    what’s left of the leaves
    litter the boot room floor

  27. scarecrows and
    moons are the best
    listeners
    *
    Dan Campbell
    *
    learning “zoonotic”
    and other scary words
    *
    or should it be:
    *
    relearning “zoonotic”
    and other scary words
    *

    1. Glad you have mentioned this word, Zoonotic (zoonosis) Laurie.
      When I ask people to keep their pets on a lead and away from people and their pets
      they look at me as if I’m talking a foreign language.
      The things I see some doing is frightening, clearing their nose and throat and spitting it
      on the footpath or parish road, along come people with children, and/or pets, sniff, sniff, on it goes…
      scary, oh, yes.

      1. I’ve seen some similar stuff in the city here. Six feet apart?! Ha. Despite the numbers people just aren’t taking it seriously. And this arrogance is exactly what brought us to this pass. If you have a chance, read David Quamman’s Spillover; written in 2012, it predicted exactly what’s happening. None of this should be any surprise.

        Stay well Carol. It’s been great getting to know you some via renku.

        1. Thankyou, Laurie, I was beginning to think it was me, being overly sensitive.
          I will be looking up, and reading your recommendation, sounds my kind of read, doom and gloom 🙂
          .
          It’s a pleasure getting to know you, also.
          Stay safe, stay well. By reading your reply, you know the score.

          1. Downloaded that onto my kindle, last night. Interesting, informative, and what a page-turner. By the amount of chapters I think this would be a doorstop sized book, this will take some time to get through.

  28. scarecrows and
    moons are the best
    listeners
    *
    Dan Campbell
    *
    raking’s not always
    the mindless task it seems
    *

  29. .
    Dry-Lightning Bushfire Smoke Plume
    “Expected to Lap the Globe”
    .
    .
    “Dry-Lightning Bushfire Smoke Plume
    Expected to Lap the Globe”
    .

  30. Love the scarecrow and moon, Dan!
    …
    Verse 1:
    …
    can sense prevail
    when leaders are straw men?
    …
    Verse 2:
    …
    on a chilly night
    I have a fever
    …
    Verse 3:
    …
    straw bundles
    are a heavy burden

  31. scarecrows and
    moons are the best
    listeners
    *
    Dan Campbell
    *
    carving into last year’s
    tins of organic pumpkin
    *
    Autumn

  32. scarecrows and
    moons are the best
    listeners
    *
    Dan Campbell
    *
    the last of the spider’s silk
    wound snug around her eggs
    *
    ~Autumn

  33. harvest over,
    borrowed the scarecrow’s sailor hat
    #####
    city folk blues
    cancelled farmers’ market
    #####
    millet bent by rain
    scooping up snails for soup

  34. a charred stump
    deep in a hole
    *
    *
    young pines
    grow out of ashes
    *
    *
    baby pines rise
    from a field of charred stumps

  37. Another verse that won’t fly, due to the musical reference and syllable count, but felt the need to post it nonetheless:
    *
    a virtual classroom sing-a-long to
    ashes, ashes, we all fall down
    *
    Maybe one or two legitimate attempts?
    *
    patches on the patches
    on Dad’s old flannel shirt
    *
    the aspens turn away
    on the Gold Tour to Victor
    *
    Actually, neither of those would work either due to the connection to “on” in Laurie’s verse…
    *
    first time I’ve ever heard
    a bear’s stomach growl…
    *
    I fear our bears, too, may feel the pinch of empty grocery store shelves and bans on camping and tourism. Funny how we humans manage to be a curse to them in sickness and in health…
    *
    ~Autumn

  38. everyone’s s#!t for brains
    until the ‘shrooms kick in
    – Betty Shropshire

  39. stink bug surprise
    pawn checkmates my king
    ############
    migrating geese fly around prisons
    says a cousin
    ############
    hospice window view
    a freight train of regrets

  43. *
    deserted streets
    waving paves the way
    *
    fire season extended
    no one talks about the streaks
    *

  47. scarecrows and
    moons are the best
    listeners
    *
    Dan Campbell
    *
    still alluding to things
    in the indirect light of autumn
    *
    “Hate has no Home Here” re-
    surfacing as the leaves go
    *

  50. scarecrows and
    moons are the best
    listeners
    *
    who will be there
    to harvest the crops

    1. I love poetry that questions, Andrew. And I also like the subtle contrast with Dan’s verse–from the gentle presence of listeners to their potential absence. Your verse is powerful, timely and apropos–one wonders whether those in power even have the foresight or gumption to pose such queries? Thank you for asking on behalf of us all…
      *
      ~Autumn

      1. Hi Andrew and Autumn I was going to post this one, but too late!
        …
        who will be alive
        to make a haystack?
        …
        Obviously our minds working on the same wavelength!
        Best wishes
        Pauline

  51. kids spellbound by a reading
    of Fall Mixed Up
    *
    the understated look
    of the autumn light
    *
    what goes without say
    in the autumn wind
    *
    facing a danger
    that can’t be overstated
    *

  53. blackened stillness
    of a burnt out forest
    .
    blackened silence
    of a burnt out forest

  54. 1) hugging book of romance
    by glowing hearth of winter

    2)leaves for embers
    soon her autumnal bath

    3)jerkins and TV
    her autumnal relief

    4) cozy owlet still
    staring at me shivering

  55. scarecrows and
    moons are the best
    listeners
    .
    Dan Campbell
    .
    wriggling a finger in an ear
    at his premonition

    1. scarecrows and
      moons are the best
      listeners
      .
      Dan Campbell
      .
      loo licking zombies
      make public apologies

    1. ooops! two musical refs: i’ll leave the more obvious one out….

      ‘
      syncopated breaths
      branching from a single vent

  58. scarecrows and
    moons are the best
    listeners
    .
    Dan Campbell

    refugee dragonflies
    their smoke signals climb higher
    ,
    refugee camp fires
    smoke signals wrap the world

  62. hope is watering
    dead grass
    ########
    hope is flicking your life’s
    savings into a wishing well
    ########
    more postcards are needed
    of cornfields at sunset
    #########
    Springs stay the same
    but Autumns get more golden

  63. A great choice, Patricia — well done, Dan. 🙂
    .
    A few ideas…
    .
    scarecrows and
    moons are the best
    listeners
    .
    the imperceptible rustle
    of turning leaves
    .
    all eyes rise with the smoke
    from next door’s bonfire
    .
    we ask Gran for some props
    for our Halloween costumes
    .
    hoping these mushrooms
    aren’t magic
    .
    (What’s the Story)
    Morning Glory?
    .
    The above verse italicised as these are song lyrics by Oasis

    1. I hope the brother’s will finally get together for the NHS concert, it’ll be one heck of a shindig.

      1. Yes I read about that the other day, Carol. I would definitely be at that gig! 😎
        .
        marion

  64. scarecrows and
    moons are the best
    listeners
    .
    Dan Campbell
    .
    Entomologists fielding
    new games of tic tac toe

    1. Or
      .
      scarecrows and
      moons are the best
      listeners
      .
      Dan Campbell
      .
      Entomologists fielding
      new slides of tic tac toe

      1. Or
        .
        scarecrows and
        moons are the best
        listeners
        .
        Dan Campbell
        .
        Entomologists field
        new games of tic tac toe

    1. “treat” has a double meaning…..it could be seen as the treat….in trick or treat….or……and……..treat like doctors, nurses, emt’s etc.
      .
      This question of mine….may have gone….unnoticed….but i feel it is essential to ask….
      .
      if we don’t keep them safe…..there will be no one left to plant, pick, or eat any harvest.

      chewing the fruit & nuts
      from the harvest birdseed

  67. more talking in his sleep
    as the nights get longer
    *
    Autumn thorn trees
    baring their teeth
    *
    tongue tied as autumn’s
    tangled branches surface
    *

  71. strangers scarier
    without masks than with
    *
    masked strangers keeping
    their secrets to themselves
    *

  72. filling the nest
    one withered leaf
    ##########
    drowning out breaking news,
    a random act of kindness
    ##########
    judging me from above
    crows on power lines
    ##########
    scarier than COVID-19
    my pissed off wife

  74. a little half-
    and-half in my tea
    .
    M. R. Defibaugh
    *
    scarecrows and
    moons are the best
    listeners
    .
    Dan Campbell
    .
    Colanders are the best
    form of defence
    .
    Rodin depicted
    there would be days like this

  75. this on-going chill
    plucks a few more leaves
    .
    another fragile leaf
    falls from the tree

  76. .
    scarecrows and
    moons are the best
    listeners
    .
    .
    still clinging to the farm fence
    a joey’s charred carcass
    .

    1. Hi, Patricia. Thank you for leading the renku! I’m loving the way it’s taking shape.
      An interesting point came up for me after writing this verse…oops, is it a four-legged animal? In checking it out, I found that most references call kangaroos either three-legged (including the tail) or five-legged. However, its scientific classification is Tetrapoda, meaning four-legged. BUT, we two-legged humans are also tetrapods…….news to me.
      If this kind of discussion is inappropriate, I do apologize.
      .
      Judt

      1. Very powerful and so so sad Judt. I’ve always seen Kangaroos and Wallabies as three legged animals. Apes may be a little more contentious.
        A great contribution.

      2. I see nothing inappropriate about it, Judt, when you place it after Dan’s verse, makes you wonder who is actually listening. There’s a whole lot of talk, and very little action.
        Climate change will not be stopped, its a part of the world’s cycle, but we can help to slow down its passage, after all humans have excelled its progress.
        Apart from the animal input, it is life in the raw. Well done.

      3. What a powerful verse and so very sad Judt. We loved kangaroos and wallabies visiting us when we used to live in NSW. Interesting info re tetrapods.

      4. Thank you all for your responses. The utter innocence of all the animals that died so cruelly in the fires…….

      6. Hi, Judt–Hey good question–off the top of my head without doing as much research as you have done, I would have said that a joey is four-legged and we are two-legged, but you have made me think a bit deeper. Perhaps my selection of what I wanted to rule out was too loose. I think we want to avoid mammals (do all mammals have four legs?) with the exception of humans.
        I do like your verse–it is very striking. However, it doesn’t mention the wildfire directly. So if the joey didn’t rule your verse out, my question would be does it clearly and strongly, even though indirectly, imply a wildfire and therefore put us solidly in autumn.
        So thanks for the question. You probably weren’t looking for another question in response but I wanted to share another aspect that I was ruminating about not just about your verse but other verses I’ve read, as well.

        1. Thanks, Patricia. I get it completely. As soon as I remembered the four-legged exclusion, I realized that a joey would most probably be disqualified. But it was enough to pique my curiosity…and I learned something (snakes and birds are ‘four legged’ 😂).
          I actually saw this on FB, a farmer removing it from the fence. That image was seared into my heart and will always represent for me the horror of the enormous tragedy.

        2. Judt, Patricia et al. I’m late to this thread, but just in case anyone looks back at the thread, I’d like to clear something up:
          .
          “Joey” is the generic term for a juvenile marsupial. I’m gathering from the thread that a juvenile wallaby or kangaroo is what Judt intends and what Patricia understands, intended, but I think you should know that plenty of koala and possum joeys are killed in injured in bushfires, and some lucky ones are rescued, their wounds treated and they’re later released.
          .
          In the USA you have opossum joeys. Opossums are very distantly related to our possums and they are your only marsupials.
          .

  77. *
    empty plastic bottles
    if you have no masks
    *
    the reaper harvests
    with unnerving precision
    *

  78. past the flower filled fields
    I run down empty lanes

    —-

    the postman knows
    he will only need to knock once

  80. peeling off some
    of the family stick figures
    *
    suddenly gatherings
    stuff of the Stasi
    *
    tv ads
    depicting illegal acts

  81. knowing what not wear
    when the leaves start to fall
    *********************
    what a dry hacking cough
    expelled by the grim reaper
    ***********************
    reading something into tea
    leaves that’s not really there

    1. not that it matters to anyone but me here a rewrite on the last verse
      *********************************************
      reading something in the
      tea leaves that’s not really there

  82. Weekend wishes and stay safe everyone
    ###########
    filled with fallen leaves
    the empty turtle shell
    ##########
    feeling safer now,
    boobie trapped my toilet paper

    1. LOL!!! glad you feel safer now, dan!
      .
      after all those heinekens
      a dan’s relief in the restroom
      .
      happy week end, be well

  83. scarecrows and
    moons are the best
    listeners
    .
    Dan Campbell
    .
    a strong wind
    in sumo’s face

      1. No saying I’m old, but when ‘very’ young I can remember the rag and bone man with his horse and cart, we had quaint ways, and a few pennies for old clothes which were of no use to up-cycle, as we call it today.

        1. Me too Carol, among other pedlars such as the baker, milkman, scissor and shears man, winkle man. Many of these set to return as we weave our way through these hiccups in our lives I suggest.
          .
          a cough from the rag man
          picking up dead mans clothes
          .

          1. You could well be right with the return of the individual pedlars, already the milkman in our area has been inundated with requests for the delivery of the morning pinta, mainly from the older generation, and he is more than happy to oblige, wonderful.
            .
            Such a chilling verse, Robert, and one to think about.

      2. Thank you for the link Robert. I like your ‘rag and bone man’ verse, and thought you were describing the grim reaper until I read the accompanying article.

  84. Be well everyone. Thank you Patricia and Dan for fine work.
    .
    scarecrows and
    moons are the best
    listeners
    .
    Dan Campbell
    .
    Dorothy heeds
    a clear-toned cicada call
    .
    migrating raptors
    flesh out the bones of the agonist
    .
    migrating raptors
    flesh out the bones of the tale
    .

  85. Thank you Pat, what a brilliant choice! Which one is it – 2 lines or 3 for our next verse?

    *
    a two-line poem of fourteen syllables or less
    this is an autumn verse. (Note: wildfire is an autumn subject; Covid 19 is nonseasonal—at least for now.) Avoid four-legged animals and musical references for at least the next three verses. Avoid the mention of colors for the next four verses, no beverages for the next five, and no celestial references for six verses.
    a single syntactical structure flowing over three lines
    *

    1. I see it does say a three line verse, but it is a call for a two line verse for this session, Kanjini.
      All the best with your entries 🙂

      1. Thank you Carol, I just looked at the link for How To Renku – very informative and inspiring. All the best with your entries too 🙂

  87. hope everyone is keeping safe and well
    .
    scarecrows and
    moons are the best
    listeners
    .
    Dan Campbell
    *
    the rustling of the wind
    blowing through the reeds

    1. going to instantly edit that one as it has 2 ‘ing’s in it:
      *
      the rustle of the reeds
      as the wind blows through

  89. scarecrows and
    moons are the best
    listeners
    *
    Dan Campbell
    *
    a coven of witch hazels
    ready to snap
    *
    witch hazels snapping
    under the spell of autumn wind
    *
    living hand to ear
    in the autumn of his life
    *
    the chill coming in
    through the open attic window
    *

  94. scarecrows and
    moons are the best
    listeners
    .
    Dan Campbell
    ..
    something about
    the elderly not counting
    .
    this damn virus it’s as if
    kaleidoscopes have dark sides

  95. ,
    scarecrows and
    moons are the best
    listeners
    .
    .
    from new flannel sheets
    the scent of childhood prayers
    .

  96. Well done, Dan and well chosen, Patricia.
    *
    a field of stubble
    under the doctor’s N95

  97. I check THF fairly often, hoping to find a renku, but missed this one. So glad I found it! All the verses and links are lovely.

    Very, very nice, Dan! Poignant and true. I envision all three out in the middle of a stubble field.
    .
    .
    the clatter of crisp leaves
    along our deserted street
    .
    .

      1. Why, thank you, Carol!! That’s very kind! I love keeping a renku tucked back in a corner of my mind to fiddle with at will. I’m enjoying seeing familiar names and styles, too. Onward!

  98. scarecrows and
    moons are the best
    listeners
    *
    the witchy screech
    of the autumn wind
    *
    a morse code message
    in the glittering frost
    *
    a straw in the wind
    from the abandoned nest
    *

  99. my apologies for the first post/ texting doesn’t seem compatible with this format
    Again Congrats Dan
    *******************************
    spreading like wildfire in
    this space that’s left between us
    ************************
    a cool autumn evening
    with three on a match
    *******************
    three match stick men
    split a slice of pumpkin pie
    ********************
    an ear to the conch
    long after tourist season
    *************************
    our only trick or treater
    standing six feet from the door

    1. Love the “trick-or-treater” verse, Michael–funny and sad at the same time…I especially related, as we have very few trick-or-treaters here–unless you count the bears!
      *
      thanks for the smile
      *
      ~Autumn

  100. Tonight, at eight o clock, here in the UK, we are having a Mass Clap for our Front line workers.
    .
    Without these selfless people all around we would be truly doomed.
    As we aren’t allowed to hug or shake hands-
    .
    Namaste bow, to all these courageous people around the world, and from all of us here in Wales.
    .
    old neighbours and new
    these bright sun rays
    through storm clouds

      1. Had the tissues ready, Robert 🙂
        .
        A big yes to the verse, a lot of waving going on as I do my rounds.
        .
        Keep safe, butty bach

        1. Top marks to you, I did not know it was your field.
          Waiting to hear how I can fit in to help.
          .
          this tightness
          was never there
          when I was young
          still with a mask and goggles
          we’ll find our way through
          .
          the din of a street party
          rang out along our road.

          Take care on your rounds.

          1. Thank you for that thought, Robert, however, I meant doing the rounds caring for my flock, they too need protecting from the influx of strangers coming into the countryside, and give flagrant disregard to the sheep. Dogs every where off leads.
            There are far to many statistics with this virus, I sincerely hope people will heed my warning…
            .
            I’m so sorry I mislead you on this, Robert, it was not my intention.
            .

            There will most certainly be massive parties going on, after this.
            Might even go wild and have a barn dance 🙂

          2. No drama Carol.
            Being mummy to so many takes a lot of time.
            .
            preparing for winter
            a new woolly
            for mum
            .
            Stay safe
            .
            Rob

  104. around the campfire
    some hunters tell stories
    *
    a fire of gun and
    the silence flies to bits
    *
    overnight the bare branches
    were filled with hoar-frost
    *
    following the plow
    lots of hungry crows
    *
    with eager hand on the eyes
    he looks the cranes’ departure

  105. Congrats, Dan!
    •
    scarecrows and
    moons are the best
    listeners
    – Dan Campell
    •
    the strong man becomes like
    tinder that sparked those wildfires
    – Betty Shropshire

    1. The second verse Patricia chose, of yours, Dan, has stuck in my mind, such a beautiful ancient image.
      I have no idea what line 1 is, could you let me/us know, please
      Thankyou.

  107. scarecrows and
    moons are the best
    listeners
    .
    Dan Campbell

    *

    the calls of geese flying south
    over empty streets

    *

    crow on a bare branch
    biding its time

    *

    my neighbor’s leaf blower
    competes with the wind

    *

    only Buddha’s serene head
    above the fallen leaves

  109. scarecrows and
    moons are the best
    listeners
    *
    Dan Campbell
    *
    the leader of the free world
    testing negative for brains
    *

    2. the crowman swaps
      the presidents head for a real one
      .
      Will perhaps appeal to those around in the seventies.

    3. No kidding, Laurie! I’d immediately thought about this in response to Dan’s scarecrow, but for the nix on musical references:
      *
      POTUS botching the words
      to If I Only Had A Brain…
      *
      Just when you thought he couldn’t possibly be more of a scourge…
      *
      ~Autumn

  110. Go Dan Go Dan Nicely done Fist 👊 bumps all around for those of us with 72” sleeve lengths *********************************spreading like wild fire in the space left between us ********************** an autumn evening left with nothing to say ************************** only this text, between me and insanity

  111. scarecrows and
    moons are the best
    listeners Dan Campbell
    *
    if only the wizard
    could hear us now
    *
    silently delivering
    the message to Oz
    *

  112. scarecrows and
    moons are the best
    listeners
    .
    Dan Campbell
    .
    I’d prefer to hug a tree
    than a hot human
    .
    falling like leaves
    in a broken puzzle
    .
    coughing into leaves
    of an ever increasing circle

  114. Wow, I sure do appreciate the kind words from everyone and thank you Patricia for your guidance during this session. I think I will have a Heineken or two today to celebrate rather than wait til tomorrow, cheers!

  115. scarecrows and
    moons are the best
    listeners
    .
    Dan Campbell

    *

    last vent and so many
    touch-me-nots

    *
    since “one” is already used

  116. scarecrows and
    moons are the best
    listeners
    .
    Dan Campbell

    *

    one vent and so many
    touch-me-knots

    1. correction:

      scarecrows and
      moons are the best
      listeners
      .
      Dan Campbell

      *

      one vent and so many
      touch-me-nots

  117. Congratulations, Dan! I haven’t always commented, but I love your work–always lively and fresh. A great addition to the renku.

    Thanks, Patricia, for all your work. This project is a life-saver right now.

  118. scarecrows and
    moons are the best
    listeners                                          
    .
    Dan Campbell
    .
    Congratulations Dan
    Thank you Patricia, clearly a divetse selection to choose from. Dan’s I agree stands out.
    Nice to have such a distraction in these problematic times.

    Stay safe everyone.

  120. rendezvous —
    snowshoes piled high
    outside the sauna
    .
    Sally Biggar
    *
    an antiphonal greeting
    of one wolf to the others
    .
    Mary Kendall

    *
    the jury still out
    on gray
    vs grey
    .
    Laurie Greer
    *

    a little half-
    and-half in my tea
    .
    M. R. Defibaugh
    *

    scarecrows and
    moons are the best
    listeners
    .
    Dan Campbell
    *********
    such a brilliant choice patricia. so glad you have moved up the verse to include these events of many headlines.
    ********
    LOVE THIS ONE DAN! CONGRATS!!!!!!! so glad you finally have a verse here….your work is so good and this verse is so poignant! Please continue to post and participate….this renku is more special when your daily offerings are there.
    .

  121. Congratulations, Dan! What a clever verse and one that can take people in many directions. 🙂
    .
    Patricia, I hope you continue to do well in California. Our numbers are growing here in North Carolina, but that’s true just about everywhere in the world. I think it’s very generous of you to break a rule and open the renku to these major current events. Thanks for your excellent curating of this renku. In peace, Mary

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