The Renku Sessions: Way of the Wind – Week 10
I am John Stevenson and I will be your guide for a twenty-stanza, nijûin, renku.
Last week was especially busy for me, between working on The Heron’s Nest’s September issue selections, the publicity launch for my new book (from Brooks Books), the June dim sum session with my local haiku group and meeting with the poets in our H.S.A. mentor-ship group. In the meantime, you were churning out lively and multifaceted renku verses!
Here are a few that stood out for me:
the days I spent
stacking eggboxes
to pay for college
Keith Evetts
to be framed
and judged guilty
was just a nightmare
Betty Shropshire
it’s harder
getting work now
as an illustrated man
Michael Henry Lee
quantum leaps
down the black holes
of conspiracy theories
Liz Ann Winkler
another set of prints
helping police
with their enquiries
Tracy Davidson
his Janus face
worn only
for effect
Marietta McGregor
spiral slide hides
the surprise of someone
too scared to go down
Debbie Feller
mass vaccination
rolled out
across the country
Andrew Shimield
something extra
left in the bag
of bakery loaves
Ellen Compton
another test
to prove I’m not
a robot
Chris Patchel
back to the library
with the keys
o other worlds
Ellen Compton
there was
a free for all
in the toilet paper aisle
Pauline O’Carolan
wishing
upon the light
from dead stars
Dan Campbell
typos
in a book of poetry
badly printed
Margherita Petriccione
voting rights
painted
into a corner
Green Rhythm
the video
set to blur
on zoom
Liz Ann Winkler
dude
mistaking me for
his dear dead dad
Sandra St-Laurent
Here is a “found” verse, taken from a note the poet entered in the comments:
probably
sit this one out
and enjoy
princess k
And here are a couple that would have been finalists if we didn’t already have a verse from each of the poets:
empty
aquarium in the
waiting room
Dan Campbell
This carries a strong potential charge, though it depends upon whether we look upon this as a newly installed but not yet stocked aquarium or as a symptom of a failing business.
a pattern has grown
out of the page
and out of itself
Wendy C. Bialek
Going “vertical.” this verse links the visual art of Escher to the haiku art of Nick Virgilio!
Here is what I have selected as our ninth verse:
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
Keith Evetts
We haven’t yet had a verse involving direct address. We also haven’t had a verse that poses a question. This particular question, though exhibiting a tongue-in-cheek attitude, is capable of vigorous dispute. And, as we approach the mid-point, it suggests a question to us as a renku group. Where do we go from here? Is our renku nearly half-full or half-empty?
Here is what we have, so far:
Way of the Wind
green barley—
we follow the way
of the wind
Lorin Ford
kids playing pooh sticks
with plum blossoms
Linda Weir
the long day opens
with a chime of pots
on the kitchen island
Laurie Greer
a coin in the cap
of a street busker
Andrew Shimield
summer moon
low on the hips
of the horizon
princess k
mosquitoes know that my wife
has sweeter blood
Dan Campbell
still drawn to him
after all the bumps
along the line
Wendy C. Bialek
queuing up to enter
the Escher exhibit
Carol Judkins
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
Keith Evetts
Before getting back into seasonal verses, we have one more non-seasonal. And this one marks the actual midpoint of our renku. No kigo should be included and no images that have their own places in a renku – no moon, no love, no blossoms. But, otherwise, anything goes!
The requirements for verse ten will be as follows:
- A two-line verse of fourteen syllables or less
- With no seasonal image (no kigo)
- Without a grammatical break
- Linking in some way to verse nine (and in no obvious way to previous verses)
For this renku, we will be using this site (http://www.2hweb.net/haikai/renku/500ESWd.html) as the source for our season words and images. We should also check it when writing non-seasonal verses in order to be sure we have not used a kigo without intending to.
I will be reviewing your offers until midnight on Monday, July 5 (New York time). On Thursday, July 8 there will be a new post in which I will announce my selection of the tenth verse, comment on some of the other offers, and issue instructions for writing verse eleven.
I’m very pleased with what we have done, so far and I hope that you are, too.
John
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://www.thehaikufoundation.org/code-of-conduct/
This Post Has 107 Comments
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do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
Keith Evetts
.
all’s quiet
in the bat cave and the lab
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
Keith Evetts
another million
added to the Pollock
more than one hand raised
on the dealing floor
another shift in
the tectonic plates
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
– Keith Evetts
•
as the roux begins
to thicken
– Betty Shropshire
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
Keith Evetts
the explanation is
right in front of me
7/05/2021 by wendy © bialek
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
Keith Evetts
a serious rubber shortage
laid this silly egg
7/05/2021 by wendy © bialek
she sheds a lot of weight
and he skedaddles
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
Keith Evetts
mother of invention
makes must-haves from mistakes
7/05/2021 by wendy © bialek
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
– Keith Evetts
•
the badlands undisputedly
rich with ore
– Betty Shropshire
clean and sober now
knock on wood
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
– Keith Evetts
*
scattering photons
seven seas
Michelle Beyers
Copyright © 7/5/21
scattering photons
blue sky
Michelle Beyers
Copyright © 7/5/21
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
what are the odds
of me forgetting my mask
all theories all discoveries
Nature’s law
*****
how much of struggle
adjusting telescope
***
all paper napkins
easy to handle
*****
uneasy mood
not exercising franchise
the universe this moment
a dream
*
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
Keith Evetts
*
the magic spell repeated
with scientific rigor
*
how magic lends itself
to the scientific method
*
Congrats, Keith!
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance Keith Evetts
*
deep into night stars
cross into black holes
Michelle Beyers
Copyright © 7/5/21
deep into black holes
day turns into night
Michelle Beyers
Copyright © 7/5/21
deep into black holes tomorrow crosses into yesterday
Michelle Beyers
Copyright © 7/5/21
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
Keith Evetts
.
computer simulations
now replace the crystal ball
.
to scry or not to scry
is still the question
john congrats on your, “my red” book launching!
the promotional trailer is magnificent! thank you for starting my fourth off with a resonating bang!!!!!!
your haiku, though written from personal experiences and observations,
i find to be easily relatable.
thanks, pk for posting the youtube url for a tempting piece of john stevenson’s, “my red”
…….’pie’.
Thank you, Wendy!
.
sitting like a Buddha
in the center of it
.
Thank you everyone for keeping the flow. Apologies for being away the last few rounds…
Congrats, Keith and John!
.
adopting a calm pose
to resolve disputes
.
we see what we want to see
in strings or particles
.
all things equal
in a unified field
.
pure consciousness
the ultimate back up
.
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
I only know for sure
my cat is called Schrödinger
Oh what a wonderful film of your haiku! I love it, John.
Thanks for posting this princess k.
marion
Thank you, Marion. And thanks, again, princess k!
I realize I’m in my slippers
when I stumble on the street
***
the miracle of a vegetable
that I watered with care
***
sweat is a cold shiver
at the mountain crossroads
***
the wonder
for a long sought invitation
*
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
Keith Evetts
*
risking voting rights
on a wrong decision
*
voting rights
at risk again
*
to think a little seasoning
goes such a long way
a swirl of gutter litter
from a passing truck
… oops. Can’t have ‘think’ again. Please amend to:
a little seasoning
could go such a long way
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
Keith Evetts
*
mould on a petri dish
becomes penicillin
*
a shift of tectonic plates
and the continents are formed
Virginian banjos
cause Swiss avalanches
*
one wrong turn
changes history
aiming to hit
the urinal during an earthquake
*
earthquakes should be named
after my ex-girlfriends
*
tricycle bicycle Civic
Mercedes wheelchair hearse
*
waving goodbye
to a falling star
roulette chips placed
within the rule of thirds
not a skeptic
everything is clear
Nani Mariani
***
do you think..
Police are on vacation?
Nani Mariani
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance Keith Evetts
*
double sixes
and I’m headed northwards
*
saved by serendipity
at the check-out
*
years of instruction
on crochets and minims
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
– Keith Evetts
jalopies break down
at very awkward moments
What’s one great thing about renku is that you can be sent off on all sorts of searches for knowledge. I can’t say I understand chaos theory any more than when I had no idea what it was! But thank you, Keith, for the verse.
…
Verse 1:
…
the police found him
by his fingerprints
…
Verse 2:
…
miners dug for opal
and found dinosaur fossils
…
Verse 3:
…
I must implement
the magic of tidying
…
Verse 4:
…
few today
on the poker machines
…
Verse 5:
…
smallpox vaccine
led to disease eradication
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
– Keith Evetts
inner spirals of a nautilus
are full of intrigue
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
– Keith Evetts
the web of life neatly
in a few dot points
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
– Keith Evetts
watching a black hole
swallow a neutron Star
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
Keith Evetts
only antimatter knocking
at the seminary door
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
.
Keith Evetts
.
to a little bit of luck
add a dash of flare
Thanks for the heads-up, John. well, if there’s a coin already, we’ll just have to shoot some craps 😉
*
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance Keith Evetts
*
to come to a verdict
the judge rolls the dice
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
– Keith Evetts
•
tired mothers everywhere
picking up after
– Betty Shropshire
🙂 Good one, Betty.
moonshine still
submerged in a flooded creek
*
black hole sipping
on a spiral galaxy
*
dark matter sculpting
the shape of a galaxy
*
tonight my favorite
star is missing
*
only drunk uncles
can follow the flights of butterflies
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
Keith Evetts
maybe yes maybe no
but the top topic on every dining table
Nani Mariani
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
Keith Evetts
even the animals in the zoo
feel the consequences
Nani Mariani
Congratulations. , dear Keith❤️❤️
Congratulations Keith
at the sculpture park
mammal with no feet and fingers
before me one man’s take
on landscape reconstruction
adding a handprint
to the bronze void
the guide gives me there take
on the sculptor’s mind
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
Keith Evetts
.
ScoMo reshuffles
the vaccination plans
.
( what with “chaos” and “chance”, I couldn’t resist. )
Good one, Lorin. Made me chuckle. Pauline
Thanks, Pauline. 🙂
in two minds
about the weather forecast
—
the satnav reveals
several ways to the zoo
an umbrella to ensure
it doesn’t rain
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
Keith Evetts
*
officially rebranding UFOs
as UAPs
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
Keith Evetts
from an unknown tweeter
coup and bomb and covid
– Milan Rajkumar
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
Keith Evetts
*
winning Pascal’s wager
with chapter and multiverse
*
or even just this:
*
citing chapter
and multiverse
*
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
Keith Evetts
a mushroom memory
in E=mc2
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
Keith Evetts
she blows me butterflies
in a snatched kiss
(in case the first person breaks the flow)
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
Keith Evetts
you blow me butterflies
in a snatched kiss
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
Keith Evetts
the crop circle we made
from discarded clothes
the big bang
from his Chevy 69
*
he gambles
on one more scratchcard
*
one last roll of the dice
in the IVF clinic
*
somehow the odds
are never in my favour
*
he loses himself
in the wrong crowd again
Congrats Keith! Now to contemplate the karma of chaos. And thank-you John, for making something of my nothingburger (and thanks to Betty for teaching me a new word).
Also, congratulations to John on your new book. Please take a moment to appreciate our sabaki reading selected haiku from his new collection ‘My Red’ : https://youtu.be/FkgX2o2zzZ0
princess k,
Thank you for mentioning this. I’m excited about the book and loving the experience of having, for the first time, a promotional trailer to go with it.
Thanks for the url, Princess. 🙂 John, I much enjoyed hearing you read your haiku.
Thank you, Lorin.
Love this. Will propagate it.
Thank you for the link , Princess
Awesome! John
Thank you for the link, princess k. A beautiful collection, John!
Oh what a wonderful film! I love it, John. Thanks for posting this princess k
a scientist-come-poet
explains the cosmos to me
All true — Keith and I had this conversation yesterday over on the Advanced Mentoring Forum! 🙂
Seriously though, Keith, well done on your selection.
marion
Congrats Keith! And sorry to hear about your hedge trimmers! So happy to read about all the good things going on in your life, John! Thank you for including one of mine in your considerations.
escorted discretely away
from the black jack table
Chuckle. I got it wrong, I seem to recall. I have a poem coming out in the Oxford Magazine later this year which explains time: “Eliot’s Fifth. ”
What a lively group this is – and John’s hand on the reins. Loving many of this week’s offerings already.
” I have a poem coming out in the Oxford Magazine later this year which explains time: “Eliot’s Fifth. ” – Keith
That sounds interesting. (Of course T.S. was much concerned with time.) I’ve sometimes wondered what might’ve come out of a collaboration between him and Stephen Hawking.
Lorin: I think Hawking might have been baffled.
It’s not this bagatelle, but much longer:
big bang theory
highly explosive
and yet
ignored completely
in Eliot’s quartets
perhaps
he didn’t like
those physics chaps
or could it be
– a theory of mine –
he didn’t have
the time
—
The big bang theory might have come after the Four Quartets; but the second law of thermodynamics predates them, yet Eliot ignores its likely effect on time…
One can only imagine the results, Lorin! 🙂
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
– Keith Evetts
confident my toolbox
will stay tidy now
Inspired by your verse, and also true. It was on my mind while in the tool shed…
.
resolved to buy a toolbox
for all my husband’s stray tools
.
I love the astute linking, Lorin, and the neat (and apposite) way you have avoided the forbidden ‘falcon’ and turned into what for Yeats it was – a symbol.
Thank you, Keith! I’m chuffed indeed. that you think so! Yes, in ‘The Second Coming’ the falcon is intended as a symbol. Thank goodness the falcon isn’t the only thing with feathers. 🙂
Ah yes, the lure…. Wizard.
” Thank goodness the falcon isn’t the only thing with feathers.” – Lorin
“Ah yes, the lure…. Wizard.” – Keith
I had in mind ‘Hope’, as in a poem by Emily Dickinson. – Lorin
“‘Hope’, as in a poem by Emily Dickinson. – Lorin”
…… Ah, the ‘gyre,’ and chaos —> anarchy fixated me on Yeats, but you have another layer in L2.
Two of my favourite poets.
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
Keith Evetts
drawing the last door prize
at the chess tournament
the atheist calculates
low odds on existence
the AI nerd secretly scans
his daily horoscope
images of atoms
painted on tarot cards
Thank you for pausing on two of mine, John, and congratulations Keith. I love the wit and possibilities.
the mounted risk
of picking through pockets
7/01/2021 by wendy © bialek
and/or if ‘pockets’ are too close to garments/clothing as in ‘cap’
then:
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
Keith Evetts
pick the piles of debris
or the psychic minds
7/01/2021 by wendy © bialek
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
Keith Evetts
.
a symbol with feathers
in the widening gyre
ooooh! I love the allusion, Lorin .. nice one ☺
Congratulations, Keith. 🙂 The answer is yes, or perhaps no or maybe and I suspect there might be a cat involved.
(and John, it seems your week was full of life and not at all boring . . . nice going!)
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
Keith Evetts
the dish added to
a juggling act
7/01/2021 by wendy © bialek
minus one plate
in the juggler’s act
7/01/2021 by wendy © bialek
i was hasty…..the jugglers are too close to ‘street busker’ in andrew shimield’s verse.
so john, please nix these two.
I enjoyed your verse Keith and congrats on your new book, My Red, John!
*
charting the pattens
in a buffalo stampede
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
.
Keith Evetts
.
the view of Transylvania
from eagleback
first….bravo to john…..how cool, to find and include a “found” verse in your travels!
you have picked and commented on offers with sensitivity and acute accuracy!
thank you for seeing mine.
and to keith…..i love what you bring to the group ad to renku.
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
Keith Evetts
omission
should read:
“the group and the renku!”
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
– Keith Evetts
•
three-martini lunches
with old pals from sigma nu
– Betty Shropshire
Congratulations, Keith–this was on my favorites list from the start. Sharp and clever! And John, thanks for ALL you do, and congratulations on your new book! Very exciting.
*
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
Keith Evetts
*
citing rhyme and reason
for every move
*
the visceral reaction
certain terms inspire
*
agree with Maxine’s comments completely
*
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance Keith Evetts
*
the gardener decides
only volunteers will survive
*
or more succinctly:
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
*
the gardener where
volunteers thrive
*
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
*
the gardener whose
volunteers thrive
*
in that universe parallel
everything seems possible to me
+ + + + ++ + + + + + + + + + + ++
waking up from a bad dream
I realized it was true
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
Keith Evetts
.
all the galaxies reduced
to fractals
.
he pixel-peeps his photos
into fractals
.
his photographs become
a million points of light
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
– Keith Evetts
without warning
my hedgetrimmer gives up the ghost
(this is true and in real time – the motor has just burned out, with a third of the hedge to go)
Thank you, John – an honour. There were so many crackin’ contributions! I’m happy that the question, while a serious matter of philosophy, has also brought a tinge of humour in the renga tradition. And now…
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
Keith Evetts
roller-skating with two trays
the waitress keeps her balance
footage of kids’ infectious laughter
goes viral
a twist of the kaleidoscope
to renew my life
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
– Keith Evetts
•
prayer flags while still
in the wilderness
– Betty Shropshire
Congratulations, Keith, enjoyed reading your comments, John.
congrats to Keith!
and John, your ability to deftly handle so much is astounding .. thank you for making time for the renku as well ☺
and while I have this verse in mind:
*
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance Keith Evetts
*
to come to a verdict
the judge tosses a coin
Love this, Maxianne. But, unfortunately, there is a coin in verse four.