Renku Sessions

The Renku Sessions: Timber Smoke – Week 26

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.

 

We needed a link that renews our summer seasonality and here’s one that accomplishes this nicely:

 

twitching of a cow’s tail
in the shade of an oak

Andrew Shimield

 

Great reversal of motion above a passive ground; “blue dashers” to involuntary motion; “twitching  . . . tail” under a passive blanket of shade. The cow being in the shade connotes perfectly the notion of heat and summer without ‘saying’ either and the twitching tail gives a salient visual detail to this summery feeling. Further, the twitching tail may be the cow’s anticipation of a parasitic insect which links to the dragonfly in the previous verse.

Also, fancifully enough, “twitching” recalls that birders were once called ‘twitchers’; people who look past dragonflies for beings of the air.

And finally, “cow” and “oak’ are such substantial words and images as to give summer seasonality its full weight, in contrast to spring and autumn that are more evanescent and transitory.

Thank-you very much, Andrew Schmield.

 

 

We now need a ‘no-particular-season’ verse of 3 lines. It would be good if we had something from the human world for this one, and mention of a Place Name Proper Noun would be good too.

 

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

 

hard to forget the party
and my off-tune singing

Biswajit Mishra

 

a blackbird tapping–
smiles and thanks me for
the seed

Melissa Dennison

 

sewing up an open wound
on the dragon’s flank

Tracy Davidson

 

blue dashers
skim the surface
of a still pond

Betty Shropshire

 

twitching of a cow’s tail
in the shade of an oak

Andrew Shimield

 

 

The Haiku Foundation reminds you that participation in our offerings assumes respectful and appropriate behavior from all parties. Please see our Code of Conduct policy: https://thehaikufoundation.org/about-thf/policies/#code-of-conduct

John Stevenson

Comments (100)

  3. twitching of a cow’s tail
    in the shade of an oak
    *
    Andrew Shimield
    *
    dusty chalk path
    up White Horse Hill
    older and steeper

  4. Great snapshot!
    Touches the heart of one who lives in a crowded town.

    dragon Country
    best serve bean sprouts
    wooden chopsticks

    1. eavonka lives in an area which is currently experiencing extreme flooding and (possible power outages)….i do hope she is safe!

      1. Aww, thanks for your concern, Wendy. We are safe and sound. I just hadn’t been on social media today. ?

    2. Thanks, Pamela! I wasn’t aware, but Nan and Maddy alerted me. I so appreciate all of you looking out for me. ?

  6. twitching of a cow’s tail
    in the shade of an oak
    *
    Andrew Shimield
    *
    barn restoration
    we work around the knots
    in our cruck frame

  12. twitching of a cow’s tail
    in the shade of an oak
    *
    Andrew Shimield
    *
    forgotten names linger
    in the hills
    of Ramallah

      1. Oops, I forgot its three lines this week!
        Silly me.

        Try again….

        in the grass
        shadows sway…
        sipping cooling Coke

        ?

  14. twitching of a cow’s tail
    in the shade of an oak
    *
    Andrew Shimield
    *
    a wave of the wizard’s wand
    pre-empts
    regular programs

  15. twitching of a cow’s tail
    in the shade of an oak
    *
    Andrew Shimield
    *
    regular programming
    pre-empted
    by the Wizard of Oz
    *
    leaving Kansas
    for the greener pastures
    of Oz
    *

  17. Lookout Point
    littered
    with broken bottles

    the cat’s
    Sphinx-like look
    at my sun salutation

    a picnic
    with cucumber salad
    on Table Mountain

    slowly, slowly
    the queue on Everest
    inches forward

  18. Congratulations, Andrew!

    My offers:

    picking up
    an illustration of Tintin
    in Pondicherry

    ***

    more than one
    dotting
    a sugarcane juice stall

    ***

    hasty whispers
    at the half-built temple
    on a countryside lane

    ***

    a page from the fable
    at the fag end
    of a safari

  19. Congratulations Andrew!

    twitching of a cow’s tail
    in the shade of an oak
    ——-Andrew Shimield
    .

    the ochre savanna
    before Lucy
    left any footprints
    .

    solar eclipse
    we order our eggs
    sunny-side-up
    .

    up on Cold Mountain
    Han Shan fans a guttering fire
    alone and free

    1. Variations:

      Olduvai Gorge
      before Lucy
      left any footprints
      .

      up on Cold Mountain
      Han Shan
      fans a guttering fire

  20. proposing
    at Cinderella’s Castle
    in binary code

    asleep in the stroller
    at Cinderella’s Castle
    fireworks

    nesting
    in a topiary
    at Disney World

  21. twitching of a cow’s tail
    in the shade of an oak

    Andrew Shimield

    ###

    sweet sunrise
    in Davidsonville
    his warm poetry

    Ivan Gaćina

  32. twitching of a cow’s tail
    in the shade of an oak
    — Andrew Shimield
    **
    **
    we drink Perrier
    as rare orchids bloom
    in the greenhouse

  33. twitching of a cow’s tail
    in the shade of an oak
    *
    Andrew Shimield
    *
    repeating an epic
    voyage
    through Ionian isles
    *
    reciting verses
    all the way
    to the Ionian Sea
    *

  35. Thanks Marshall and all for your kind comments.
    There is another link here. The previous verse was by Betty Shropshire.
    Shropshire! The English county where I was born and raised

    1. Andrew, that’s cool! My maiden name is Galloway…there is a Scottish cow breed by that name as well! ?

    2. You’re most welcome Andrew. And the ‘other’ link is great too.
      But let me apologise for mispelling your surname when i wrote “Thank-you . . .”
      I appreciate that you didn’t point it out to me yourself.
      Thanks for that, too -Marshall

  38. perfect pick and great commentary marshall.
    great summer image!
    marveling your verse, andrew, and how you managed to avoid mentioning the word-flies, in your linking!

    twitching of a cow’s tail
    in the shade of an oak

    Andrew Shimield

    *

    Navalny
    in greener pastures
    roaming free

  40. blue dashers
    skim the surface
    of a still pond
    Betty Shropshire

    twitching of a cow’s tail
    in the shade of an oak
    Andrew Shimield

    A very attractive pairing. Both vigorous,,but of
    a kind of warm summery contentedness.
    Well done, chaps.

  45. blue dashers
    skim the surface
    of a still pond

    twitching of a cow’s tail
    in the shade of an oak

    27 offers

    Community offenders
    de – littering Center Park
    knock off for the day

    off-duty
    cops relax with a beer
    in a Main Street café

    flecks of rain
    dash the cheek of a lounger
    in the Grassmarket

  46. twitching of a cow’s tail
    in the shade of an oak
    *
    Andrew Shimield
    *
    the long rocky road
    to the San Antonio
    rodeo

    1. Oh boy, not doing so good:/ Scratch this one too…there was a tusnami off the coast of Nicaragua and northern Costa Rica, September of 1992…should have known better. Hope everyone is doing well:)

    1. I forgot about the hamburgers…I don’t know why. Cows are such majestic creatures, makes me a little sad. Please scratch this poem. I usually just order a chocolate chip cookie and coffee. ( Best coffee in town, in my opinion.)

  51. the pit boss
    has me taken out back
    of Caesars Palace

    another branch
    of Starbucks
    on another corner

    we watch Schwarzenegger
    kick butt
    in Val Verde

  52. twitching of a cow’s tail
    in the shade of an oak
    *
    Andrew Shimield
    *
    running away
    with only a dish
    and a spoon between them
    *
    running away
    to the island
    of Serendip
    *

  53. Congratulations Andrew and muchas gracias Marshall!

    collect calls
    from my friend
    in Hell

    counting stars
    on a divine
    night in Nairobi

  54. udderly ridiculous
    Trumps layer
    replied

    Kansas City steak sauce
    on a new
    Chief’s jersey

  56. first skyscraper
    the home life insurance building
    has an iron frame
    ~ ~ ~
    alexander miles
    inventor of the automatic elevator
    shaft door

  58. Well done, Andrew, for creating such an evocative pastoral scene.

    twitching of a cow’s tail
    in the shade of an oak
    *
    Grandma tells us
    she can twerk better
    than Beyoncé

  60. Excellent.

    twitching of a cow’s tail
    in the shade of an oak
    — Andrew Shimield

    —-

    on Fifth Avenue
    the crowd ignores
    a naked man

  61. twitching of a cow’s tail
    in the shade of an oak
    *
    the clatter he makes
    with a dish
    and a spoon
    *

  62. Fantastic verse from Andrew that captures summer so perfectly!

    the endless
    night of a Las Vegas
    casino

    1. hi Eavonka -this has a really nice off-kilter flow to it. So instead of putting it back on steady ground
      could we make it more consistently wonky by making it ‘the endless
      night of a Las
      Vegas casino’ ?
      cheers -Marshall

      1. I am all about the wonkiness of not knowing the time or much of anything else inside a Las Vegas casino. I lived in Vegas for 4 and a half years back in the 90s so this one is filled with those memories.

        So, yes, please make that edit! I am glad it caught your eye, Marshall.

  63. twitching of a cow’s tail
    in the shade of an oak
    *
    Andrew Shimield
    *
    the stomach-churning
    spectacle
    of Pamplona
    *
    shutting his eyes
    to the finale
    at Pamplona
    *

  64. twitching of a cow’s tail
    in the shade of an oak
    *
    Andrew Shimield
    *
    the traje de luces
    shines its sun
    in a bull’s eye
    *
    Pamplona bull

  66. Congratulations Andrew for a wonderful poem! Thank-you Marshall for such a perfect choice and explanation.

  67. twitching of a cow’s tail
    in the shade of an oak

    Andrew Shimield

    really loved your poem andrew, it was very moo-ving–
    you captured the essence of summer perfectly!

    and marshall this was your best commentary yet,
    your explanation was so well done. a fine edit of
    andrew’s poem as well.

  69. Congratulations, Andrew, on your verse.

    twitching of a cow’s tail
    in the shade of an oak
    –Andrew Shimield

    twisted into a knot
    at a pretzel factory
    in Bavaria

  70. twitching of a cow’s tail
    in the shade of an oak
    *
    Andrew Shimield
    *
    crowds massing
    for the growing herd
    at Glacier Bay

  71. A beautiful new verse! Thank you and congratulations, Andrew and Marshall.

    twitching of a cow’s tail
    in the shade of an oak
    — Andrew Shimield

    I can’t unsee
    the sycamore gap tree
    at Hadrian’s Wall

  72. Great work, Andrew! And thanks as always, Marshall.
    *

    twitching of a cow’s tail
    in the shade of an oak
    *
    Andrew Shimield
    *
    extended layover
    at an airport
    in Wisconsin

Comments are closed.

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