The Renku Sessions: Timber Smoke – Week 21
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.
Happy New Year, everyone. Our link for the new year’s seasonality is:
hand-calligraphed
happy new year postcard
smudge and all
Pamela Garry
This verse completes the suggestiveness of a human hand in the “break easier than twigs” in the previous link; yet here the hand is constructive and not breaking something apart. The personal involvement of a hand-made card adding a more intimate charm to what can be a hackneyed greeting.
The last line adds a subjective side to the link, implying that 2024 can be a positive year if we accept it, “smudge and all” while pointing up the fragility of such charm and ‘carry-through’ in its stressful context.
“Smudge” also brings us back to a visual focus from the previous two verses where the scented and the tactile were emphasized.
A lovely shift from a tentative rejection to a wholehearted reception of a gift.
Thank-you Pamela Garry
What we require now is a further 2 lines of a New Year’s seasonality. This should be less ‘head-on’ than #21, but still contain elements that we’d usually associate with the turning of the year-end. And of course, no blossoms, flowers, moons or hints of love in this link.
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
a whirligig of leaves
sweeps the deck clean
Wendy C. Bialek
evening begins
with a gift of opal
moonlight
Marion Clarke
beachcombers trade shells
as the tide comes in
Jonathan Alderfer
a morning glory
the hummingbird
unfolds
madeleine kavanaugh
stepping from the change room
in her prom gown
Laurie Greer
her scent
on the pillow
the morning after
Andrew Shimield
some vows
break easier than twigs
Dan Campbell
hand-calligraphed
happy new year postcard
smudge and all
Pamela Garry
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Comments (133)
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fragments of memory,
nostalgic feelings
places and people –
past recalled
fireworks blossom
over the bones of last year
in my thanks
countless syllables
hand-calligraphed
happy new year postcard
smudge and all
——-Pamela Garry
.
ice crystals blossom
as friends gather to celebrate
After the high –
January blues
confused narcissus
budding in winter
threshold moment …
thinking of those gone before
hoppin john’s a shoo in
for good luck
hand-calligraphed
happy new year postcard
smudge and all
——-Pamela Garry
.
overdrawn account
the weight of fallen snow
hand-calligraphed
happy new year postcard
smudge and all
——-Pamela Garry
.
a new tax credit
for hours spent dreaming
Amusing!
waves crashing
on the horizon
gambling on the runt
of the litter
in the new season
not seeking perfection
winter blahs
the children fight over “the happy light” lamp
wiping winter flies
from the window sill
packing away the tinsel
for another year
a new coat of whitewash
round the calendar hook
change in the credit
terms and conditions
Great poems, Harrison.
Good that you’re back!
the missing wise man
turns up in the toybox
—
confidently ordering
a smaller belt
Love the first poem Keith!
Other one is lovely, too.
A beautiful verse, Pamela. Thank you, Marshall.
My offers:
news of new illnes
after the post script
Or
news of illness
at the roundabout
***
straightening her hair
for the newest after-party
***
afterparty mascara
outlining the snow
***
her partywear dress returns
with a blob of chutney
***
adopting a newborn kitten
with patches of brown
***
an off-tune welcome
with his gruff voice
Thank you Amoolya!
These are beautiful Amoolya!
baby Buddha’s first haiku
dada
chuckle!
ditto! :)
Keith and Madeleine, Your feedback is so encouraging! Means a lot!
Awww… made my day, Pamela! :)
a smaller rice cake on top
complete with daidai
one rice cake stacked on a larger
topped with a leafed daidai
redo-do-do:
singing doo-wops to the dogs
louder than the count-down booms
:)
I am happy for your dogs!
singing do-wops to the dogs
louder than the count-down booms
liking their new sherpa beds
more than their new bowls
wiping the toothpaste spots
off the guestroom mirrors
using my old reading glasses
to find my new ones
his cap recovered
in the store’s lost & found
my neck still angled
at 45 degrees
wondering what new
hallucinations will appear
Wendy, these are wonderful!
hand-calligraphed
happy new year postcard
smudge and all
Pamela Garry
forgotten dreams
crystallized in silence
distant echoes
buried beneath snowflakes
unexpected warmth
through the mailbox glow
Ivan Gaćina
Welcome back, Ivan! :)
such a wonderful offering and meaningful message, pamela…..many kudos to you and marshall for placing it in our renku.
hand-calligraphed
happy new year postcard
smudge and all
Pamela Garry
Thank you Wendy!
one by one fireside
resolutions by each of us
hard to forget the party
and my off-tune singing
:)
Congrats Pamela! A lovely addition to the renku.
.
hand-calligraphed
happy new year postcard
smudge and all
.
Pamela Garry
.
unlike greta thunberg
octopus is not fishy
.
octopus en braille
on the small of her back
.
no midnight kiss for the guy
with an octopus on his head
.
an octopus with a hangover
shoots itself in the foot
.
mlk* and the octopus discuss
the price of a fleeting dream
.
*Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a federal holiday in the United States marking the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. It is observed on the third Monday of January each year.
Thank you Princess K!
:)
hand-calligraphed
happy new year postcard
smudge and all
Pamela Garry
*
the illegible scrawl
on his new Ex Libris
*
the still unreturned books
borrowed from illegible
fresh varnish for the skiffs
in the college boathouse
travel brochures
where the geese went
nothing like homemade soup
with a dash of Tabasco
hand-calligraphed
happy new year postcard
smudge and all
Pamela Garry
sending friends home
with leftover cake
a clanking sound
as we chat at the bottle bank
hand-calligraphed
happy new year postcard
smudge and all
Pamela Garry
*
1000 yen is the norm
for otoshidama
picking up last year’s litter
minus smooth beach glass
old tiding on the shore
the ink bleeds on stone
hand-calligraphed
happy new year postcard
smudge and all
Pamela Garry
*******
starting again
a new notebook and pen
snow melts
squirrels sleeping in a tree hollow
if that star only knew
how much he’d be missed
Lovely!
hinges worn
on the wish box
Love it, Rob!
hand-calligraphed
happy new year postcard
smudge and all
Pamela Garry
this one tells a very human story pamela–
in a perfect world we stick to all our
new years resolutions but in the real
world we make a smudge,
and it’s all right.
thanks to you and marshall too.
Thank you Rob! And I agree with Madeleine on your wish box verse.
Well done, Pamela, on your verse.
hand-calligraphed
happy new year postcard
smudge and all
*
tracking my son’s flight
all the way to Oz
(We left our son Caolan to Dublin airport this morning. He’s travelling alone for a year and will be landing in Doha for a quick change of plane in a few minutes, then on to Melbourne)
Thank you Marion! And I hope you receive frequent good news from Caolan.
He’s not the best at communicating, Pamela, so I’m hoping we hear a little more from him than when he went to uni in Belfast! ?
marion
Congratulations Pamela, I enjoy your verses!
celebrating
with a new banjo tune
Thank you Dan!
first jigsaw of the year
sorting the blues
after yuletide dinner
stockinged feet propped up
trying again
I’m not sure if stockinged
is a correct spelling but it corrected to that. Is stocking
appropriate? Trying to get “up” to stay in second line.
after yuletide dinner
stocking feet propped up
This is a delightful, ‘ku” Carolyn…I believe both spellings are correct, though. So, I am almost sure stocking is appropriate. I like that version best too! If anyone wants to add… :)
Thanks Madeleine! I like the second one too. Easier to think and say…
Your welcome, Carolyn…yes, it is! :)
hand-calligraphed
happy new year postcard
smudge and all
Pamela Garry
*
each year brings a new
definition of “happy”
hand-calligraphed
happy new year postcard
smudge and all
Pamela Garry
*
once again his first footer
is a perfect stranger
Hi everyone, this is my first time posting! Happy new year to all.
running the first mile
in shorts
*
last year’s holidays
put out on the curb
Welcome Patrick, from all of us! Happy New Year, too!
Thank you, Madeleine!
Your welcome, Patrick!
These are great!
new year
new conflicts begin
Congratulations, Pamela, on the verse.
hand-calligraphic
happy new year postcard
smudge and all
–Pamela Harry
Robert Burns poetry
being practiced
.
Burns Night plans
firming up
.
Burns Night planning
around the world
Sorry, Pamela, autocorrect changed your verse.
hand-calligraphed
happy new year postcard
smudge and all
–Pamela Harry
post-holiday bills
arriving in the post
and now your name.
Haha Nancy! And thank you!
If my youngest daughter had been born a boy, we had chosen the name Harry Garry.
Pamela,
Thanks for being so forgiving. Autocorrect irritates me when it changes after I have typed it correctly. Autocorrect probably would have changed Harry’s last name to the Chicago Cubs announcer.
I have to fight with it in the spring. My favorite flower is the crocus and if I make it plural, autocorrect will change it to circuses almost every time.
Hi Nan: I found it so interesting that Burn’s Night is a phenomenon around the world. I am glad you included this poem. :)
Madeleine,
It is indeed, celebrating Robert Burns and his poetry. On Hogmanay (old year’s night) or New ‘s Eve when we sing Auld Lang Syne, we are singing some of Burns’ poetry.
they check to see
if kilts still fit
:)
It sounds like a wonderful evening, Nan!
every new year
ominous tea leaf readings
nostradamus gets kicked
around at new years
my tarot cards keep
saying I’ll be wealthy
all pea nuts
on the center of her table
2)her diary replete
with new vows
3) all her rejected poems
her garden bin
4)self assertion
to be ever in broad company
leafing through brochures
wish I was there
putting my stamp
on his bachelor pad
my Burns Night date
addressing a haggis
the gym jam packed
with recent resolutions
hand-calligraphed
happy new year postcard
smudge and all
Pamela Garry
this year’s virus
in a fingerprint
the new year already not
so straight and narrow
1907-1908 new years
it’ll never last
Angel, I didn’t realize the Time Square’s ball had such a fascinating history! :)
hand-calligraphed
happy new year postcard
smudge and all
Pamela Garry
*
long lines and small-talk
at the return-it counter
Very nice, Pamela!
hand-calligraphed
happy new year postcard
smudge and all
——-Pamela Garry
.
toasting another bumpy
spin around the sun
.
out way too late . . .
a pink blush in the east
Thank you Jonathan!
the proofreader deletes
some scripto continua
standing around
the rectangular table
I finally got it, Pamela! Too funny! :)
chowing down on pizza
on the last clang
a grape gobbled
for each chime
Congratulations, Pamela! Wonderful wit and image.
trying not to think
about taxes
Thank you Eavonka!
bits and bobs piled
into the recycle bin
Congratulations, Pamela. I agree with Laurie, a nice touch of humor.
Thank you Carol!
already living
her resolutions
keeping an eye
on track deliveries
is it too late
to send a present?
hand-calligraphed
happy new year postcard
smudge and all
Pamela Garry
*
gift wrap and calendars
going at half price
*
already behind
on keeping in touch
*
grabbing for the balloon
just as the string snaps
*
hand-calligraphed
happy new year postcard
smudge and all
Pamela Garry
in front an empty page
of my brand-new journal
This is really a thrill and an honor. Thank you Marshall for selecting my verse.
Good one Pamela!
Thank you Carolyn!
hand-calligraphed
happy new year postcard
smudge and all
Pamela Garry
promise to self
talk to someone else
hand-calligraphed
happy new year postcard
smudge and all
Pamela Garry
eco-resolutions
we will not follow
a man at the door
bringing more coal
gifted book journal
opened to
page one
Congratulations, Pamela for such a delightful and heart warming poem! :) Thank-you, Marshall for this perfect choice and for your insightful commentary.
Thank you Madeleine!
Came up with this recently, Pamela… couldn’t resist. :)
lady bugs chuckle ‘coz
Pamela’s cheerful card on their porch!
20
some vows
break easier than twigs
21
hand-calligraphed
happy new year postcard
smudge and all
22/1
Thursday’s post arouses
boundless creativity
2
a rosy apple from store
without a blemish
3
the washed-off stamp is creased
but a rarity
4
re-read again once more
the day’s fun’s over
20
some vows
break easier than twigs
21
hand-calligraphed
happy new year postcard
smudge and all
22/1
Thursday’s post arouses
boundless creativity
a rosy apple from store
without a blemish
the washed-off stamp is creased
but a rarity
re-read again once more
the day’s fun’s over
Congratulations Pamela
Thank you Angel!
balloons clogging atmosphere
parading on the streets
the stars return
to unexpected places
Congratulations again, Pamela, on a fine link! And thanks again for your leadership, Marshall.
+++
on the bent nail
a new calendar
little evergreens with
raked leaves line curbs
check after check
rewriting the year
Three revisions and a new one…
+++
on a bent nail
the new pinup
little evergreen
left at the curb
writing a check and
pausing at the year
factory folds
of a new shirt
Thank you Richard!
*
hand-calligraphed
happy new year postcard
smudge and all
Pamela Garry
*
persevering with the étude’s
tricky fingering
Congratulations, Pamela! A lovely verse, and nice touch of humor. Thanks again, Marshall, for the comments and pointers.
*
hand-calligraphed
happy new year postcard
smudge and all
Pamela Garry
*
learning to stop pointing
the finger
*
Thank you Laurie!