Renku Sessions

The Renku Sessions: Timber Smoke – Week 13

renku_300

Greetings and welcome to The Haiku Foundation’s current Renku Session entitled, ‘Timber Smoke’. I am Marshall Hryciuk of Toronto, Canada and I will be leading this session through a 36-link kasen renku.

 

So, for verse 13 of our Timber Smoke renku we have:

 

Jacques Brel singing
“in the port of Amsterdam”
on the radio                                       

Alfred Booth and Marshall Hryciuk

 

Simple connection between the “mailman’s breath” and the voice of a modern balladier but the shift in the tone and timbre of the renku is tremendous.

Previous sounds were the wail of a deer and barking dog and now we hear the full-throated passion for life, no matter how anguished, of the Belgian cabaret singer Jacques Brel who sang lyrics such as these in English. Full-on feeling with nothing to snicker at.

I added the actual lyrics, so thought i’d better add my own name to the credit as well.

The verse also contributes a proper name and a well-known place-name to Timber Smoke.

We still need an uncommon Engish word and a foreign word to complete the linguistic elements, but now we have 22 verses to add these as well.

Thank-you Alfred Booth for imagining such a great shift.

 

Now, for verse 14, we need to go back to a specific season; to autumn for 2 lines. This means all those pent-up Halloween verses could still be applied here.

Happy linking
Marshall

 

 

 

 

Timber Smoke (so far)

 

nothing dimmed yet
timber smoke scent
sifts into the house

Marshall Hryciuk

 

one by one
I pick plums off of the ground

Alfred Booth

 

a file of cars
overtaking a tractor
on the mountain road

Keith Evetts

 

drawn out deer notes
echo in the coolness

Betty Shropshire

 

even paler
than the clearing fog
day moon

Mary White

 

handprints  and crumbs
I would miss them

Pamela Garry

 

giving pollen
a lift
on the bicycle bells

Laurie Greer

 

the tiffany blue
of 3 eggs in a nest

Eavonka Ettinger

 

scattered spores
following a random trail
through landmines

John Hawkhead

 

attempted murder
by the morality police

Rob Barkan

 

next door’s dog
barks
at our snowman

Carol Jones

 

the mailman’s breath
faintly white

Keith Evetts

 

Jacques Brel singing
“in the port of Amsterdam”
on the radio

Alfred Booth and Marshall Hryciuk

 

 

 

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This Post Has 217 Comments

  3. Jacques Brel singing
    “in the port of Amsterdam”
    on the radio
    Booth/Hryciuk

    a stranger’s tears
    at the end of the bar

      1. Harrison
        since autumn can speak of isolation, contemplation, loneliness, and death….this might be a good thing to have as a hardy debate!

  7. Jacques Brel singing
    “in the port of Amsterdam”
    on the radio
    Booth/Hryciuk

    an extra tot of rum
    for the Day of The Dead

    first families give thanks
    for the wild turkey

    oilskins shining
    through the first hail

  8. migrating geese
    form a jagged V

    cosplay an excuse
    for political expression

    the scurry of squirrels
    prepping their food hoard

    a doorbell camera
    tests the trick- or- treaters

    1. An interesting thing happened when I tried to post this just now with a reference to the recent Halloween activities in Beijing under the cosplay verse. I got a message from Wordfence? The message went by fast, that I was directed to an unsafe sight, so couldn’t post. When I removed the reference I was able to post.

      2. Debbie it is indeed a strange experience to have communications filtered in this way,
        one that i can so relate. in the USA i was posting a haiku, about 15-20 years ago…i think it was a Shiki list….i was typing “the womanly art of breastfeeding” and IT kept changing it to ‘the womanly art of beastfeeding’ quiet a different animal….me thinks!

  9. Jacques Brel singing
    “in the port of Amsterdam”
    on the radio
    — Alfred Booth and Marshall Hryciuk

    how the last viewing lingers
    autumn’s halo

    or

    how the last viewing lingers
    the touch of her hair

  10. Jacques Brel singing
    “in the port of Amsterdam”
    on the radio
    —Alfred Booth and Marshall Hryciuk

    river of heaven
    laps at our bows

    branches of berries
    at the harlot’s wedding

    spider webs festoon
    the futtock shrouds

    1. river of heaven
      laps at our bows

      –Keith Evetts

      very spiritually beautiful Keith, took my breath away.

      1. Thank you! I can’t claim much credit, alas: I think it was Bashō (isle of Sado) who established amanogawa — ‘river of heaven’ (i.e. the less evocative Milky Way) as an early autumn seasonal expression, though the expression itself goes back a long way, I believe.

        1. keith…
          ‘this refers to the hazy white band across the night sky made by the galaxy’
          (from haiku world…w.j.higginson)
          and would revert back to your verse 12.

          1. Seems rather a stretch from a reflected ‘river of heaven’ to me, Wendy. Over to our sabaki…

    2. Revising #2 to:

      branches of yew berries
      at the harlot’s farewell

      (can’t have ‘wedding,’ too close to a love verse which theme is yet to come; nor explicitly ‘red’ as we’ve had blue and the absence of colour; although I’d love ‘scarlet’ and ‘harlot; and the poisonous nature of yew berries adds something. Just thinking aloud!)

  11. Jacques Brel singing
    “in the port of Amsterdam”
    on the radio

    Alfred Booth and Marshall Hryciuk
    *
    the old song and dance
    of standard time

  12. Jacques Brel singing
    “in the port of Amsterdam”
    on the radio

    Alfred Booth and Marshall Hryciuk
    *
    another lost tooth makes him
    twin to the jack o’ lantern

  13. i hear Einstein made
    a wicked bomboloni

    pause on fishing trip
    to the Taj Mahal

    a bobbing moon
    only living thing left

  14. I apologize, I got a little carried away with the smiley faces…You guys’s poems have this effect on me. I promise in the future, I will tone it down:)

    1. i so much enjoy your written comments, Madelaine
      and by the way….i just responded down below to yours.

  15. I enjoy thinking about renku possibilities even if unlikely to get another verse in..

    Jacques Brel singing
    “in the port of Amsterdam”
    on the radio
    — Alfred Booth and Marshall Hryciuk

    —–

    a pressed maple leaf
    in the skipper’s log

    1. Keith….i appreciate your input in this group….be it your heart-felt and well researched verses or your discussions about renku, etc. and to want to write just because you love it
      is the way to go!

      a pressed maple leaf
      in the skipper’s log

      Keith Evetts

      very beautiful!

        1. Ditto, Keith. I agree with Wendy’s lovely words. Keep writing your beautiful poetry.

  16. unraked leaves welcomes
    an eco-friendly slip

    *

    एक जैसी ग़लती
    एक ही गलती

    ek jaisee galatee
    ek hee galatee

  19. my thoughts
    falling in contemplation

    *

    would we still be splitting atoms
    if Einstein invented smartphones

    *
    war’s the costume
    when we don’t wear ourselves

    *
    the scariest ghosts
    (( unimagined )) in the mirror

  22. Jacques Brel singing
    “in the port of Amsterdam”
    on the radio
    – Booth/Hrychiuk
    ……

    leaves fall
    but I regret nothing

    fresh onions with rollmops
    and jonge genever

    the bilge as sweet
    as the purser’s apples

    the bosun’s hornpipe
    kicks up the leaves

    a robin right next
    to the last ripe apple

    a mouse with clogs on
    among the new grain

  23. Princess k.
    we miss your beautiful poetry
    …hoping you and our other poets will be back.

    3. What a very kind and lovely thing to say – thank you Madeleine! I’m enjoying reading everyone’s contributions – so much talent in this group! I’ll post if/when the muse inspires.

  24. Jacques Brel singing
    “in the port of Amsterdam”
    on the radio
    Alfred Booth and Marshall Hryciuk
    . . .

    the crackle of leaves
    on Bonfire Night

    as I rake leaves
    a robin appears

      1. thanks for the wonderful compliment, Madeleine

        though there are many books and movies of the sci-fi story by h.g. wells
        i am writing about a true event, a CBS radio broadcast, which aired on October 30, 1938 where Orsen Welles performes a radio adaptation of H.G. Wells’s The War of the Worlds, converting the, then, 40-year-old novel into fake news bulletins describing a Martian invasion of New Jersey.
        it is an amazing story, and could make people think twice about the way media and AI could be used to start our next World War!
        check it out!

        1. Yes, it’s an absolutely amazing story. I wouldn’t have thought of looking at it in that context. Such a good point.

  31. oak trees line the way
    watching over the trick o’treaters
    …

    the weeping willow bending
    grasshoppers nap in its leaves

    3. mystically and mysteriously, interesting verse, keith
      had you considered reversing the lines?

      1. I agree with Biswajit and Wendy, Keith, a beautiful poem…it’s amazing, the networks that communicate with each other beneath the earth:)

        1. Thank you, all.
          Wendy: I did consider the reversal, but I like it better the way it is, and I think there’s still plenty of flow.

  33. Jacques Brel singing
    “in the port of Amsterdam”
    on the radio

    between howls
    greeting each other

    the boy goes quiet,
    the treat before whine

    just ghosts out waiting—
    taking a dinner break

  34. dead bones scrape in trees
    by the graveyard

    dead voices whisper in trees
    on all hallows eve

    1. dead voices whisper in trees
      on all hallows eve

      Carolyn Vander Vegt

      five skulls for this one Carolyn
      or—the Lovecraft award for creepy
      atmosphere

  35. a skeleton crew
    on All Hallows Eve

    quayside crickets
    compete with the static

    the harvest festival’s
    champion cheese roller

  36. Jacques Brel singing
    “in the port of Amsterdam”
    on the radio

    Alfred Booth and Marshall Hryciuk
    *
    the pampas grass
    sways in the wind
    *
    a drift of leaves
    across the canal

        1. Thanks, Madeleine. You are so supportive to everyone.
          I can imagine a costume like this, but whether the link makes sense, well…that remains to be determined.
          There are so many interesting and intriguing verses presented. I am glad I don’t have to make these decisions.

    1. patrick….i just love the dry wit and clear simplicity in all your verses! this one, another great example!
      the channel/station change….how it contrasts the generational gap….a makes a subtle statement on today’s mindset.
      wish you would post more of your treasures that i enjoy so much.

  41. autumnal freeze
    new stroke of her feet

    2) first step in her garden
    morning’s autumnal dance

    1. Or, to avoid the same verb structure…

      we sip pumpkin & chilli soup
      at the Red Rose Café

      Or with a hint more narrative…

      he sips pumpkin & chilli soup
      outside the Red Rose Café

      1. For info: ‘The Red Rose Café’ is the English translation of the song ‘Het kleine Café aan de Haven’ by Vader Abraham.

        The chorus begins…

        Down at the Red Rose Cafe in the Harbour
        There by the port just outside Amsterdam

        Of course, without knowing this a reader won’t get the connection, but I thought the name of the café sounded Dutch, French or German. Now, I’ll shut up! 😄 🌹

        1. Didn’t know this Marion…thank-you for the explanation. It’s great. I understand now.

  45. Jacques Brel singing
    “in the port of Amsterdam”
    on the radio

    Alfred Booth and Marshall Hryciuk

    *

    spooky static sparks
    between linked verse stations

  49. a gourd melts into itself
    Nagasaki

    *
    gourds floating
    fishnets in the sea

    *
    gourds worm their way
    into adult toy shops

    *
    carved-out pumpkins
    wave fanciful feather plumes

    *
    a french kiss tip-toes
    between tulip bulbs

  50. Jacques Brel singing
    “in the port of Amsterdam”
    on the radio

    Alfred Booth and Marshall Hryciuk

    *

    blind to a spoof
    “War of the Worlds”

  51. Jacques Brel singing
    “in the port of Amsterdam”
    on the radio

    Alfred Booth and Marshall Hryciuk
    *
    the witch spices things up
    with a spell from the grimoire
    *
    Halloween covens consult
    the grimoire

      1. (wishing the reply box had an edit button!)

        rob barkan

        rob,

        this makes an interesting two-line renku verse, also!

  53. Jacques Brel singing
    “in the port of Amsterdam”
    on the radio

    Alfred Booth and Marshall Hryciuk
    *
    the floods of autumn leaves
    racing through town
    *
    cold but still too soon
    to don the silver skates
    *
    trick or treating in a pair
    of well-worn silver skates

    1. Lesson learned: not to use new language without relatively deep understanding. I would appreciate if Marshall could remove this last submission of mine, as I didn’t understand its insulting derivation. Never my intention. I thought it simply meant frog.

    2. Pamela, I am Dutch and I have never heard this term. When you google it, it simply means frog. However, it’s usage was many years ago. I guess it means that the Dutch sound like frogs when they sing. Well in my case, that would be true! My sisters however can sing beautifully! It’s from the English disputes with the Dutch way back. I read some of the derogatory terms and I was highly amused. I guess I am going to have to give you the Dutch cuss!! Lol! We do have a reputation for being very direct and straightforward. No worries.

  55. Jacques Brel singing
    “in the port of Amsterdam”
    on the radio

    Alfred Booth and Marshall Hryciuk
    *
    leaves fall easily into
    the rhythms of double Dutch
    *
    leaves take a turn
    at double Dutch

  56. Jacques Brel singing
    “in the port of Amsterdam”
    on the radio

    Alfred Booth and Marshall Hryciuk
    *
    stuffing the Dutch oven
    with pumpkin chili
    *
    warming the Dutch oven
    with pumpkin chili

  57. a shower of leaves
    cover the unscooped poop

    only crickets
    left in the candy bowl

    a locust becomes skipper
    of a falling leaf

    1. a locust becomes skipper
      of a falling leaf

      Tracy Davidson

      I see it clear as a Nat Geo nature clip!
      Well done Tracy!

  58. a sheaf of wheat tied
    with a sailor’s hitch

    a jack o’lantern’s leer
    outside the sex shop

    jewelled ripples
    in the slant of midday sun

    a barrel of fresh apples
    to keep off the scurvy

    in the crows-nest
    crows!

  62. Jacques Brel singing
    “in the port of Amsterdam”
    on the radio
    ***

    bienvenue
    to Rosetta Stone
    *
    record « j’aime »
    for his risotto à la citrouille

    Or

    record « like »
    for his risotto à la squash
    *
    a kid trick-or-treats
    in an moules-frites outfit
    *
    a GPS fudges directions
    to « le musée du chocolat »

    1. a GPS fudges directions
      to « le musée du chocolat »

      Sandra St-Laurent

      good one…sandra!

      i would have had a melt-down!
      it must have been a bad chip
      GPS’s are so vanilla

  64. Jacques Brel singing
    “in the port of Amsterdam”
    on the radio

    scarecrow stops and screeches—
    still giving out candies

    passing by
    the headstone rattles

    refusing the treat—
    the delivery man

  68. pressing the delay button
    in mid brew of pumpkin spice

    at least this pumpkin
    won’t run-away with the country

    the difference between trumps
    and pumpkins is vocabulary

    pence’s time to return
    to the wax museum

  70. a whirligig of leaves
    sweeps the deck clean

    another salt water taffy
    reattaches his tooth

  72. Nice combo!

    (Jaques Brel’s ‘Ne me quitte pas’ is one of my favourite French songs)

    Best wishes.

    marion

    Jacques Brel singing
    “in the port of Amsterdam”
    on the radio

    a striped Breton shirt
    for the Cornish scarecrow

    down at the pumpkin patch
    something shifts at midnight

    the littlest witch shows me
    how she can spin on her heels

    a drunk man swears blind
    that the toothless pumpkin winked

    1. Dear Marion Clarke,
      enjoyed the whole set, especially the ” Breton shirt for the Cornish scarecrow”

      1. Thank you, Radhamani. I ended up researching this garment and finding out a lot about it! It was introduced as the uniform for all French navy seaman in Northern France in 1858 and the original design featured 21 stripes, one for each of Napoleon Bonaparte’s victories. Also, the stripes apparently made it easier to spot sailors who had fallen overboard.

        Because Cornwall is across the English Channel from Brittany, there is the suggestion in the verse that the item of clothing may have been washed up on the shore.

  73. Jacques Brel singing
    “in the port of Amsterdam”
    on the radio
    (a 2nd try)

    a flood tide surges through
    the canals of our city

    an operatic aria
    before les feuilles d’automne

    Mille regrets, we’re breaking up –
    a last push before winter

    Hallowe’en : the dead come out
    to entertain the living

  74. Tremendous collaboration, Alfred and Marshall!

    Jacques Brel singing
    “in the port of Amsterdam”
    on the radio

    Alfred Booth and Marshall Hryciuk

    a path of marigold petals
    welcomes the dead

  76. Jacques Brel singing
    “in the port of Amsterdam”
    on the radio

    Alfred Booth and Marshall Hryciuk

    mighty fine collab Alfred and Marshall!

    _________________________________

    curled orange leaves sing
    a skittering song

    dead crocus sprout
    along the rue morgue

    billowing leaves reclaim the roadbed
    from a fast Quebec freight

    moonbeams caress the coffins
    Zorgvlied mausoleum

    maple leaves
    thread the tower base

    under a creaking wharf
    a fisherman weeps by starlight

    a hypnotic melody
    bursts from the UFO

    Edith baring her child soul
    as francs fill her beret

    last rays of november
    warm a slumbering bear

  78. bright red berry swags
    ward off witches

    ringing the bells on
    all hallows eve

    eating soul cakes
    summons the dead

    1. Dear Castolyn,
      The following is wonderfully drawn.
      “eating soul cakes
      summons the dead”

      1. Thanks! It goes way back to catholic England before catholicism was banned. They made soul cakes to summin dead relatives before all Saints Day. Kids would knock on doors to beg for cakes and pray for dead souls.

  79. Very nice Alfred and Marshall! Although I have no idea who the crooner is nor what the song is! But your link has prompted my own link. In my house this autumn, we have a different song stuck in our heads.

    hands covered with sticky pumpkin guts…
    Alfalfa singing “I’m The Barber of Seville!!!”

    1. Lol! Diana, I had forgotten that part in “the Little Rascals Movie”…delightful!

      1. Madeleine 🙂 I can’t seem to forget it… it’s been on my mind for months… I am even singing it to my cats!

        perhaps this edit…

        hands covered with sticky pumpkin guts
        i can’t turn off Alfalfa singing “I’m The Barber of Seville!!!”

        🙂

          1. So we watched this episode of The Little Rascals tonight and I couldn’t stop laughing. 🤣

  82. Jacques Brel singing
    “in the port of Amsterdam”
    on the radio

    Alfred Booth and Marshall Hryciuk
    *
    the scarecrow all at sea
    in the autumn wind
    *
    a jack o’lantern weeps
    in its mask of tragedy
    *
    the jack o’lantern’s hard tears
    in its mask of tragedy
    *

    1. the scarecrow all at sea
      in the autumn wind

      Laurie Greer

      very poetic and artistic image Laurie, well done!
      (the visual transition from land to the deck of a ship)

  85. Oh bother !
    Done it again !!
    No Autumn !!!

    A new Art House season –
    discombobulating

    No more Autumn Leaves –
    Give me South Pacific

    early morning on Classic
    Renaissance & Baroque

  86. Thank you , Alfred and Marshall, for all that verse adds !

    now wilted impatiens looks scary
    but that ship has sailed

  87. Interesting collaboration!

    +++

    masqueraders turning
    tricks in a cold rain

    lost souls seeking
    homes in the dark

    the grown-up face
    on a shivering child

  88. Thank-you Marshall for giving so much of your time to the building of this wonderful renku and to the poets for their beautiful poetry.

  90. ‘Sorry : 3 lines again insted of 2

    Jacques Brel singing
    “in the port of Amsterdam”
    on the radio

    ‘un cabotin ! I’m
    discombobulated

    Art House ? Give me
    South Pacific

    Renaissance & Baroque
    on the Classic program

    foreign muck !
    Art house ? Give me
    South Pacific

    Sorry : 3 lines again instead oi 2

    early morning
    Renaissance & Baroque
    on the Classic program

  92. Jacques Brel singing
    “in the port of Amsterdam”
    on the radio

    ‘un cabotin !
    the ‘great artist leaves me
    discombobulated

    foreign muck !
    Art house ? Give me
    South Pacific

    early morning
    Renaissance & Baroque
    on the Classic program

  94. Jacques Brel singing
    “in the port of Amsterdam”
    on the radio

    Alfred Booth and Marshall Hryciuk

    leaves growing red
    where her ashes blew

  95. Hello Marshall,

    I guess I should keep abreast of all the comments every week! “Merci” for the surprise of this lovely collaboration.

    My offering for the next verse:

    Jacques Brel singing
    “in the port of Amsterdam”
    on the radio
    — Alfred Booth and Marshall Hryciuk

    All Saint’s Day
    all the gravestones of children
    **

  97. children trudge door to door
    not so fun playing tricks when it’s cold

    the little girl cries
    when her brother puts his mask on

    they stay home watching scary movies
    and eating the candy they bought

  98. Alfred and Marshall, thanks. Jacque Brel’s singing reminds us to celebrate what we have… a good week to everyone.

  101. nice duet! booth & hrycuik

    Jacques Brel singing
    “in the port of Amsterdam”
    on the radio

    Alfred Booth and Marshall Hryciuk

    a crow throwing its
    voice to the scarecrow

    1. sorry, i made a typo on your last name…marshall.
      it should read:
      nice duet! booth & hryciuk

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