Renku Sessions

The Renku Sessions: Timber Smoke – Week 30

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

 

Once again, the first day’s responses were rich and evocative. The one i chose for our 30th verse is

 

skimming recipes
for Oaxacan mole sauce

Wendy C. Bialek

 

Right from the start, “skimming” picks up where the ‘slipping’ and “sipping” left off but further suggests a separate kind of taste and a different activity; i.e. looking to prepare food instead of consuming it. A food and not a drink and a much more abstract focus of mind. We also receive into our renku an exotic word, “Oaxacan,” a city in southern Mexico that is the capital of the same-named state. And as a place-name, we now have one in North America to complement our earlier one in Europe. So, besides adding an Hispanic accent to our linking we also add the spices such as cinnamon, anise and dried chiles to our abiding chocolatey palate.

So, first of all, Wendy C.Bialek, thank-you for perking our taste-buds and for adding a visual and inquisitive sense to our renku but secondly, for providing an opportunity for your sabaki to add a verse of his own, thereby introducing an autumnal seasoning.

It is:

 

          crinkle of leaf
                           behind me on the path
quietly the creek 

Marshall Hryciuk

 

Lines that are turning away, like yours Wendy, from the at-hand to the hypothetical, changing here from the senses of sight and taste to a pursuit of sound all the way to its vanishing point.

So, though the word in Mexico is pronounced, ‘mo-leh’ the play on words was encouraged for me when i saw the furry animal, a mole, today (Tuesday) rummaging through reeds and hiding away off of a different path than my usual.

So thanks again, Wendy, you gave me a chance to add a lingering auditory dimension to our renku.

 

So, “crinkle of leaf” is our verse 31. What we need for Number 32 is 2 lines of the moon, with some indication of autumn as well. Food, leaves and water are definitely out, but the senses of touch and of aromas are fully available.

 

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 endless
night of a Las
Vegas casino

Eavonka Ettinger

 

wyndes level snow-stacked tables
in the sea-front caff

Dick Pettit

 

sipping on hot chocolate
after an afternoon
of ice skating

Nancy Brady

 

skimming recipes
for Oaxacan mole sauce

Wendy C. Bialek

 

crinkle of leaf
behind me on the path
quietly the creek

Marshall Hryciuk

 

 

 

 

 

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 (183)

  1. moonlight shining down
    on grandma’s moonshine still

    pity wolves on planets
    with two moons

    a stray moon
    follows me home

  5. moonlight caresses the gnarled bark
    of a mountain cherry
    .

    moonlighting cops
    smoking under a moonless sky

  9. the moon picks out
    a spotted toadstool

    under moonlit pines
    the sweet scent of decay

  16. carp-shaped cloud
    streaks through a salty moon

    the scent of moonlight
    resting on haystacks

    teens practice putting condoms on
    fresh zephyr squash in moonlight

    2. Awesome! All 3 Wendy! I note how the seasonality of autumn and spring merge in that last unexpected one! lol!

      1. thanks, pamela

        if you are referring to the kigo word ‘squash’ it is listed under late summer in my saijiki (haiku world), however….where i reside we are able to grow:

        Squash (summer), April through September
        Squash (winter), August through November

        the zephyr squash is a summer variety; and as such, may be picked through
        september…….mid september is autumn in my hemisphere which encompasses the time of harvest moons.

    1. I love this one Madeleine! It made me stop and ponder on the various moon landings. Recently Moon Sniper and Odysseus. Happy to see you posting.

      1. Awww, thank-you, Pamela! Thanks also for bringing the US’s recent landings on the moon to our attention! This is very exciting! :)

  23. skimming recipes
    for Oaxacan mole sauce

    Wendy C. Bialek

    crinkle of leaf
    behind me on the path
    quietly the creek

    Marshall Hryciuk
    *
    dealt a second full house
    by the light of the blue moon

    1. REVISIONS

      drawing a second full house
      as the blue moon rises
      *
      winning blue moon poker
      with a second full house

  24. skimming recipes
    for Oaxacan mole sauce
    — Wendy C. Bialek

    crinkle of leaf
    behind me on the path
    quietly the creek
    —Marshall Hryciuk

    hunter’s moon
    through fern glass

  25. skimming recipes
    for Oaxacan mole sauce

    Wendy C. Bialek

    crinkle of leaf
    behind me on the path
    quietly the creek

    Marshall Hryciuk
    *
    scars of Dracula’s teeth
    in the blood moon
    *
    Dracula sinks his tooth
    in the blood moon

  26. skimming recipes
    for Oaxacan mole sauce

    Wendy C. Bialek

    crinkle of leaf
    behind me on the path
    quietly the creek

    Marshall Hryciuk
    *
    just as the moon reaches
    its frost phase

  27. skimming recipes
    for Oaxacan mole sauce

    Wendy C. Bialek

    crinkle of leaf
    behind me on the path
    quietly the creek

    Marshall Hryciuk
    *
    light fingered clouds phase the moon
    in and out
    *
    cold-hearted clouds phase the moon
    in and out
    *

  28. skimming recipes
    for Oaxacan mole sauce

    Wendy C. Bialek

    crinkle of leaf
    behind me on the path
    quietly the creek

    Marshall Hryciuk
    *
    painting by the number
    of moon phases left

  29. crinkle of leaf
    behind me on the path
    quietly the creek

    Marshall Hryciuk

    pine siskin’s call rubs off
    barley moon in sleepy eyes

  30. skimming recipes
    for Oaxacan mole sauce
    –Wendy C. Bialek

    crinkle of leaf
    behind me on the path
    quietly the creek
    –Marshall Hryciuk
    *
    nightwatchman rolls a smoke
    on his moonlit round

    1. nightwatchman rolls a smoke
      on his moonlit round

      Andrew Shimield

      perfect combination of words andrew
      pure shining poetry

  35. jasmine candles and the moon
    fulfil the evening
    .
    jasmine candles and the moon
    at the window

  37. Congrats Wendy, I sure do enjoy your verses!

    owl hoots
    headed for the moon

    the wail of a loon
    headed for the moon

    a scarecrow guards
    wilted corn under the moon

    a prodigal son
    gazing up at the moon

    1. thanks, amigo! like-wise, our multi-talented and witty poet! (even your refined and recyled ones!) have a great, fun weekend!

    1. Dear Evonka Ettinger

      I have just read your verse, March 14th.
      My apologies.

      I will be more than happy for Marshall do remove my verse.

      Carol

    1. i can detect an accent here loud and clear, built into a witty, slice of real life, day to day talk, one might have with a comfortably-worn in soulmate. and it made me lol pamela.

  45. even accountants
    are touched by the moon

    no rhyme for this moon
    that isn’t jejune

  47. skimming recipes
    for Oaxacan mole sauce

    Wendy C. Bialek

    crinkle of leaf
    behind me on the path
    quietly the creek

    Marshall Hryciuk

    moon rising
    with the scent of serenity

    1. OMG the cognitive test! and the auditory aspect brings autumn to the forefront- “tree bear”! lol

  50. still struck by
    last’s nights moon

    moon’s presence
    touching me in the now

    branches merely begin
    scratching its chalky coat

    1. moving possessive to their customary place:

      still struck by
      last night’s moon

      and another version:

      still seeing
      last night’s moon

    2. branches merely begin
      scratching its chalky coat

      Wendy C. Bialek

      yes i see the visual vividly
      fat moon slowly rising
      toward a bare tree
      weel done lass

  52. skimming recipes
    for Oaxacan mole sauce

    Wendy C. Bialek

    crinkle of leaf
    behind me on the path
    quietly the creek

    Marshall Hryciuk
    *
    half the Janus clockface
    is moon time
    *
    friends chase the moon through
    imaginary playgrounds

  53. skimming recipes
    for Oaxacan mole sauce

    Wendy C. Bialek

    crinkle of leaf
    behind me on the path
    quietly the creek

    Marshall Hryciuk
    *
    a fresh breath of moonlight
    in the crisping air
    *
    holding my hand out for a
    breath of crisp moonlight
    *

  54. Congratulations Wendy on your verse being chosen as well as the “free” verse of Marshall ‘s.

    skimming recipes
    for Oaxacan mole sauce
    –Wendy C. Bialek

    crinkle of leaf
    behind me on the path
    quietly the creek
    –Marshall Hryciuk

    leaping flames of a bonfire point
    at the moon

    Halloween bonfire flames point
    out the moon

  55. the moon my lantern
    on this grave visit

    a butcher bird
    haunting the moon

    ghostly moon
    gathering all the wrong mushrooms

    1. kudos to you tracy, for finding a way to write about mushrooms without them sounding like food!

  56. skimming recipes
    for Oaxacan mole sauce

    Wendy C. Bialek

    crinkle of leaf
    behind me on the path
    quietly the creek

    Marshall Hryciuk
    *
    letting the moon be the judge
    of the pumpkin carving contest
    *
    stropping the carving knife
    on the dark side of the moon
    *

  58. see moon in sky
    is my firstborn’s first sentence

    between finger and thumb
    a blueberry big as the moon

    moonrise in the eyes
    of a fully-fledged owlet

    even the scarecrow
    looks swell moon-viewing

    the scarecrow’s arms
    spread wider than the moon

    touched by the full moon
    a squirrel forgets his nut

    3. Thanks for the kind comments, Wendy and Pamela. I realise that the first one does not contain a secondary reference to autumn, but the moon without further qualification defaults to autumn; and the verse is totally authentic, in that my firstborn’s first whole sentence as a toddler was “M..(his name) see moon in sky”

      Which was rather memorable!

      1. a poet, too!

        now if he was born in autumn
        or was speaking these words in autumn….that may be the secondary qual.

      2. I remember the first sentence of my first born. We were slowly lowered her into the deep bathtub and hoping the temperature was just right . “I like it.” My husband and I both witnessed it and no one else believes us!

        1. totally believable, pamela.
          the bond being so strong, they pick-up our anxieties and try to quell them with tender reassurance. a truly beautiful experience…that will make great fodder for your future poetry, haibun etc.

          1. Dear Wendy, that haibun is already!!!! Thank you for so much encouragement and inspiration!

  59. the game of hide ‘n seek
    under a hunter’s moon

    the smell of life
    recycling under a burnt moon

    the comfort of moonlit deer
    eyes on thruway’s shoulder

    bright moon returning
    life into earth

      1. thanks, pamela…i’ve a lot more where that came from….just getting warmed.

          1. thanks, rob, for your words of encouragement!
            (the mole sauce might be at work as a muse…as well as the moonlight exposure from the other night…replaying in a loop)

  61. untouched furrows
    mourn in moonlight

    snake’s tongue flicks
    a familiar moonlit crevice

    harvest moon
    poised on a gazebo

    death tirelessly scythes
    endless moonlit cornstalks

    a single screeching bat
    crosses a gibbous moon

    bare branches
    juggle too many craters

    moon through the rigging
    tattletale sound

    moonlit blade
    ronin savors his sake

  62. under a hunter’s moon
    the rutting moose fades away

    under a hunter’s moon
    our first kiss

    the hunter’s moon
    peering in the window

    golliwog’s cakewalk
    playing by a hunter’s moon

  63. I have enjoyed following and reading. Many thanks.

    My offerings:

    hearing aids
    he turns up the moon

    back to school night
    flipping through a lunar atlas

  64. I just love the connections between chocolate, mole(h), and the mole on your walk, Marshall (and Wendy). I continue to learn so much.

    scarecrow silhouette
    in the harvest moon

  65. moon shadows
    sunflowers wait

    harvest moon she said
    he said not looking uhm-huh

    *** both ‘harvest moon’ and ‘uhm-huh’ meant to be italicized ***

  66. 30
    skimming recipes
    for Oaxacan mole sauce

    Wendy C. Bialek

    31
    crinkle of leaf
    behind me on the path
    quietly the creek

    Marshall Hryciuk

    my offers:

    shoveled soil
    silhouetted in the moon

    heirloom ghost fingers
    point to the moon

    white gourd
    wrinkling the moon

    copper moon
    the cost of freedom

    blood red moon
    the price of freedom

    white gourd and i
    worshiping the moon

    1. a little note, i refer to gourds (as well as, heirloom ghost fingers) purposely left on the vine, not for consumption, but for ornamentation…i.e. .outside and indoor decorations and artfully painted wall hangings and sculptures, etc.

  68. to marshall: BOGO! LOL at your playfullness! Thank you, marshall. i am both honoured to have another verse in our meticulously, hand-picked renku and to have this verse move you to write
    one to follow!
    i knew you would see and play with, in your mind….the (unwritten) furry, animal mole with the sauce ‘mole’….but pleasantly surprised to see it to its full splendor in a following verse!

    just like my like my hidden chocolate-link in the sauce….your link is the omitted word in the empty white space. and your motion and the mole’s motion is also tracked in your originally, staggered lines.

    1. correction:
      just like my link…….
      lol!
      this mole sauce is simply, irresistible!

    2. Thanks, Wendy and to everyone else who viced appreciation for these verses.
      I also want to thank each of you who is still posting offerings after 30 weeks!
      Bogo on!
      Marshall

  69. Congratulations again, Wendy, on a fine link, and thanks, Marshall, for your invitation to contribute again to this wonder-filled renku.

    +++

    the moonlight’s gleam on
    an iced-over windshield

    studying a thin moon
    from a homeroom desk

    the scent of cut pine
    stacked in moonlight

    a jog past campfires
    on the moonlit beach

    campfire smoke floating
    amidst bare, moonlit trees

    the rutting deer tapping
    across a moonlit road

    the stench of roadkill
    under a hunter’s moon

    1. thank you, kindly….richard!
      i always enjoy your posts!
      this above series of yours is quite nice!
      especially the first, the third and lastly the roadkill one for sure!

        1. Thank you, Wendy, Pamela, and madeleine!

          It’s been fun reaching back with everyone through our pasts for haiku moments, being inspired occasionally by incidents happening now, as well as anticipating events that could take place in our futures.

          Happy Saint Patrick’s Day this Sunday!

          1. may the rainbows in the sky
            turn you happily green

            richard, and that’s no blarney!

  70. 30
    skimmink recipes
    for Oaxacan mole sauce
    31
    crinkle of leaf
    behind me on the path
    quietly the creek

    drops from a blood moon
    skein the autumn leaves

  71. skimming recipes
    for Oaxacan mole sauce

    Wendy C. Bialek

    crinkle of leaf
    behind me on the path
    quietly the creek

    Marshall Hryciuk
    *
    glossing The Moonstone
    in full view of the moon

  72. a moon-lit face mask
    in leaf litter

    with warts on his eyelids
    the bullfrog blinks

        1. thanks, madeleine for your kind words here and last week’s post…..i didn’t have internet connections when i tried to contact you, before now.

    2. madeleine, i like the top line of this one….combined with a shortened form of the bottom line of the next one!

        1. the pajama top of Line 1:

          grain moon
          the combine rumples all night

          combined with a capri bottom of Line 2:

          green corn moon
          the rumpling of the old combine through the night

  74. skimming recipes
    for Oaxacan mole sauce

    Wendy C. Bialek

    crinkle of leaf
    behind me on the path
    quietly the creek

    Marshall Hryciuk
    *
    crocheting a hand warmer
    with the hook of a moon
    *
    installing twin moons
    with the double glaze
    *

      1. ” ditto” and i wanted to comment on your last week’s post…
        i was really impressed with your “crackle-glazed like pottery
        found in the thrift shop” laurie.

  75. skimming recipes
    for Oaxacan mole sauce

    Wendy C. Bialek

    crinkle of leaf
    behind me on the path
    quietly the creek

    Marshall Hryciuk

    wendy, to inspire sabaki to link to your verse
    is a very precious accomplishment. your
    evocative, richly-flavored verse is superbly
    written. the words are so simple yet say so much!

    marshall, thank you for both your choice of
    wendy’s verse and your specially woven words
    that followed–a vividly painted nature scene.

    1. i tried to preserve marshall’s staggered line breaks,
      but the reply post wouldn’t preserve them. again:

      crinkle of leaf
      behind me on the path
      quietly the creek

      Marshall Hryciuk

      if you study his original bold entry up top,
      i think he was making a visual there. i pictured,
      as clearly as a video:

      the walking poet
      turning back at the sound of the mole
      in the leaves
      with the creek softly gurgling
      next to him.

      the motion set up by the staggered lines is vivid.

  78. This is wonderful, Marshal and Wendy, I am “blown away” by both verses. Wendy’s and your poems are such rich and beautiful additions to the renku and the word mole is an amazing link! I love the joyful sound of mole in Wendy’s haiku. I love how you came about your poem through the serendipity of discovering a mole on your walk in the woods. I agree with Carole…much to learn!

    1. thanks for being blown-away and yet so touching….as always, lovely and talented, madeleine

  79. 30
    skimmink recipes
    for Oaxacan mole sauce
    31
    crinkle of leaf
    behind me on the path
    quietly the creek

    offers for 32

    somewhere in the moon’s shadow
    a stone’s dislodged ‘

    hoots from the trees above
    a rock wall in moonlight

    a thrown-away tissue
    white in the grimy debris

    ‘

    1. hoots from the trees above
      a rock wall in moonlight

      dick pettit

      a finely woven image dick
      i love rock walls

  81. Brilliant, Wendy and Marshall. Also much to learn from your comments.
    Well done, Wendy.

Comments are closed.

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Our mission is made possible by the generosity of others. Learn how you can provide vital support to our organization.

Donate | Volunteer

Questions, comments, or concerns? We’d love to hear from you!

Home | Policies, Disclaimers, & Terms of Use | Contact

The Haiku Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization proudly operating as an inclusive remote workplace and is staffed exclusively by community volunteers.

The Haiku Foundation
P.O. Box 2461
Winchester, VA
22604-1661
USA

Back To Top