The Renku Sessions: Way of the Wind – Week 3

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1. a warm night
   with blanket kicked off
   and feet ready to dream

   5/17/2021 by wendy © bialek

2. grandma stays up
   appliquéing teddy bears
   over kite tears

   5/17/2021 by wendy © bialek

3. gathered herbs
   soaking in my
   bedtime bath

   5/17/2021 by wendy © bialek

4. tranquil evenings
   “know the value
   of doing nothing”

   the drained water
   buffalo rests after
   tilling rice paddies

   silk sheets stuck
   to me and I felt
   for the silkworms

   our luxury found
   in the half-life
   of silkworms

   afternoons spent
   charring young ayu
   on the barbecue

   1. It would more accurately be:

      tranquil evenings
      know “the value
      of doing nothing”

      “Don’t underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can’t hear, and not bothering.”
      ― A.A. Milne

5. table top
   bonsai with marble-sized
   oranges

6. bedroom windows
   opened to spring thunder hear
   the promise of rain

7. a wet teddy bear
   combs the beach
   at sunset

   5/17/2021 by wendy © bialek

8. despite spring thunder
   he sleeps soundly
   between teddy bear sheets

   1. sitting at the table
      she watches the sheets
      dry in the breeze

9. kids playing pooh sticks
   with plum blossoms
   .
   Linda Weir
   .
   mother relaxing
   at day’s end with sips
   of dandelion wine

   1. or
      .
      mother resting
      at day’s end with sips
      of dandelion wine

      1. or
         .
         mother in the kitchen
         resting with sips
         of dandelion wine

10. kids playing pooh sticks
    with plum blossoms
    – Linda Weir
    •
    briny-sweet
    cherrystone clams
    awash in butter
    – Betty Shropshire

11. soap bubbles
    illuminated
    at sunset
    * * * * * * * * *
    the thread of the cocoon
    glitters
    among mulberry leaves
    * * * * * * * * *
    the silk slime
    on the gnawed leaves
    mulberry tree

12. Thank you, John and Linda. I love Linda’s offering and all its possibilities.

    kids playing pooh sticks
    with plum blossoms
                            Linda Weir
    *
    paint brushes
    dip into the colours of spring
    mountain runoff
    *
    a rotation of seven vowels
    and several moth
    on the scrabble rack
    *
    porch lanterns
    too dim to find fitting words
    on the scrabble board

13. unlocked the bird
    cage to celebrate
    Buddha’s birthday
    *
    the temple
    light comes from the monk’s
    cigarette

14. they may be famous
    but I can’t stand frogs
    tonight
    ***
    kites bloom
    on the common terrace
    at sunset
    ***
    like dreams
    birds enter the clouds
    of dawn
    ***
    late spring
    withers even
    the paper flowers

15. sprouting grasses
    only to be trampled
    by his playful shoes
    ************************
    silkworms soaring
    dipped in boiling vessel
    closing her eyes
    ****************
    highflying kite
    soon to be torn by fast
    pulling hands of boy
    ********

    mild spring roar
    threatening her fast
    to close drawing book
    ******************
    his just blooming grains
    soon to be thwarted
    sudden spate

16. kids playing pooh sticks
    with plum blossoms

    Linda Weir

    a thumb
    full of jam
    for the toddler’s woes

17. #5

    carried away by dreams
    joy of togetherness
    on school holidays

    Nani Mariani

18. as always. great picks and commentary, john.
    thank you also for spotting my tractor verse.

    linda…what a fun, unique and charming wakiku!

    kids playing pooh sticks
    with plum blossoms

    Linda Weir

    their midnight yawns
    after cherrystone clams
    grill

    5/16/2021 by wendy © bialek

    1. *they can be grilled inside or outside

       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2UqNJliX4M

       https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yawn

19. #4

    arrangement of roses
    for dear mama
    on Mother’s Day

    Nani Mariani

20. Congratulations on your verse, Linda. A great visual to follow Lorin’s hokku, and plenty of opportunities to link and shift here.
    …
    spring dawn
    and the sweet aroma
    of boiling jam
    …
    warm evening
    in the concert hall
    and the pianist sweats
    …
    tiptoeing downstairs
    for jam donuts
    in the lingering day
    …
    blowing up balloons
    for the birthday party
    tomorrow
    …
    our mother
    reads a bedtime story
    at the end of a long day

21. .
    .
    tadpoles
    make heads
    of mares’ tail
    .
    legs emerge
    from tadpoles
    and in wine glasses
    .
    footprints left
    on the riverbank
    in spring mud
    .
    the pilgrimage of tadpoles
    in search of
    the sound of water
    .
    scores of frogs
    remain
    on sunlit surfaces
    .
    .

22. 3

    bright moon
    the soft light of the hand-held lantern
    we sing together

    Nani Mariani

23. at dawn
    birdsong ripples through
    an open window

24. Congratulations, Linda! Thank you John, for mentioning one of my verses _()_
    ………………………………………..
    the little boy
    hangs up
    his winning kite
    ………………………………………..

    grandaddy
    lighting a pipe
    for his tranquil time
    ………………………………………..

    how about
    steamed red snapper
    for supper?
    …………………………………………

    a pink heart
    on Buddha’s Birthday
    in her diary
    ………………………………………..

    the contact
    for eco balloons
    by his night lamp
    ………………………………………

25. Thank you, Linda, for such a fun verse!

    greeting cloudy dawn
    with a click of
    grandma’s floor lamp

26. kids playing pooh sticks
    with plum blossoms

    Linda Weir
    —
    good times with neighbors
    jump into the river
    and dance among the blooming flowers

    Nani Mariani

27. kids playing pooh sticks
    with plum blossoms

    — Linda Weir

    drinking buddies
    serenade a long day
    con brio

    This verse’s tone may not be sufficiently sedate and stately for the position! 🙂

28. kids playing pooh sticks
    with plum blossoms
    .
    Linda Weir
    .
    mother stirs
    tender sprouts into
    our supper stew

29. kids playing pooh sticks
    with plum blossoms

    —Linda Weir

    from across the river
    smoke from burning fields
    mingles with our dreams

    *
    through the windshield
    a spring mist shifts
    up the tidal creek

    *
    wakened at dawn
    by a pheasant’s squawks
    across the river

    *
    wakened at dawn
    by our neighbor’s tractor
    tilling along the river

    *
    falling asleep
    to the white noise
    of the river in flood

30. a window open
    to the lullaby
    of peepers

    1. Love it! Nice one, Chris.

       1. Thanks Lorin.

31. Congratulations Linda!

32. silkworms flex
    in their glossy
    cocoons

33. congrats to Linda for this continuation ! and now, my try at a sedate spirig-time kigo evening link and shift
    *
    kids playing pooh sticks
    with plum blossoms
    *
    Linda Weir
    *
    after their long day
    Winnie tells Baby Roo
    a bedtime story

34. kids playing pooh sticks
    with plum blossoms

    Linda Weir
    *
    the storybook shimmer
    of nightlights
    on the squeaky mylar balloon
    *

35. kids playing pooh sticks
    with plum blossoms

    Linda Weir

    a tranquil night
    without the usual battle
    for the duvet

36. kids playing pooh sticks
    with plum blossoms

    Linda Weir

    midnight dice
    endlessly clicking
    under a hazy moon

    1. The moon verses in this renku will be numbers 5 and 15.

       1. Thanks, John.

37. morning shadows
    waltz across the kitchen floor
    to the music of birds

    1. shorter version:

       morning shadows
       waltz across the floor
       to birdsong

38. kids playing pooh sticks
    with plum blossoms

    Linda Weir
    *
    evening falls tranquil
    over the well-scrubbed
    butcher-block table
    *
    the long day opens
    with the chime of pots
    on the kitchen island
    *
    sparrow twitters chime in
    from the eaves
    at dawn
    *

39. bedtime twittering
    inside and out
    we share full nests
    ***
    scared of spring thunder
    a boy and his Eeyore
    hide under the bed

40. kids playing pooh sticks
    with plum blossoms

    Linda Weir

    dinner accompanied
    by a twitter of swallows
    under the eaves

41. kids playing pooh sticks
    with plum blossoms

    Linda Weir

    signing off Zoom
    as spring thunder
    rattles the tiles

42. Congratulations dear Linda ❤️❤️

    ****

    kids playing pooh sticks
    with plum blossoms

    Linda Weir
    —

    cat’s eyes glow
    follow the cycle
    and ting ting ting voice ..

    Nani Mariani

43. our dragon kite
    takes shape
    on the kitchen table
    ***********************
    balloons cover
    the ceiling of
    the vaulted foyer
    **********************
    spring melancholy

    1. sorry i hit the wrong damn button
       ********************************************
       spring melancholy
       plagues the girl sick in bed
       with a cold
       ****************
       pinwheels
       spinning through the window
       in a window box
       *************************
       her request
       for a pony falls
       on deaf ears

44. kids playing pooh sticks
    with plum blossoms

    Linda Weir
    —

    all the baby birds
    learn to sing for supper
    under the barn eaves

45. kids playing pooh sticks
    with plum blossoms

    Linda Weir
    —
    up early
    to comb the beach
    for ikebana driftwood

46. kids playing pooh sticks
    with plum blossoms

    Linda Weir
    …
    Mom packs sandwiches
    for tomorrow’s school trip
    to the spring mountains

47. What a lovely surprise to have my verse selected. I look forward to seeing how the renku continues to flow.

    1. Congrats Linda! Such a fun verse – thanks for the introduction to pooh sticks.

48. For the hell of it:

    kids playing pooh sticks
    with plum blossoms – Linda Weir
    .
    yellow dust boot prints
    on Mum’s newly mopped
    linoleum

49. Congratulations, Linda!

    kids playing pooh sticks
    with plum blossoms

    Linda Weir

    A deft switch from the way of wind to the way of stream or river water, keeping the forward -moving flow. I also love the image of children playing pooh sticks. (I’m a tad vague on how pooh sticks could be played with blossoms though, since they’re all the same size, colour and shape. How to identify the winning blossom?)

50. kids playing pooh sticks
    with plum blossoms

    Linda Weir

    lingering day
    Grandpa begged
    for more bedtime tales

    1. …oops – just noticed the requirement for no grammatical break. Please amend to:

       Grandpa begged
       for more bedtime tales
       as the day lingers

51. Thanks, John, for noticing my wild rose and for your detailed and always helpful–and challenging!-instructions. Thanks, Linda, for introducing me to pooh sticks and for a wonderful verse.
    *

    kids playing pooh sticks
    with plum blossoms

    Linda Weir
    *
    weaving the light
    of the long day
    on the rigid heddle loom
    *

    1. oops–perhaps insufficiently dusky.
       Can I edit to:

       weaving the last
       of the long day’s light
       on the rigid heddle loom
       *
       thanks!

52. Linda, I so enjoyed the videos of formal poohstick games, fun verse, congrats!

    through the heat shimmer
    chopped carrots plop into
    the evening soup bowl

53. on the windowsill
    flats of seedlings lean into
    the rising sun

    1. We will not want a third vegetation image here, after barley and plum blossom.

54. a bedtime bath
    in a cuddle
    of bubbles

    1. While “soap bubbles” is listed as an “all spring” kigo, the kind of bubbles meant are the kind you blow with a wand rather than bath bubbles.

       1. Ok, thanks, John.

          It was a moment of enjoyment after a rainy wind swept day, gathering sheep from the hills 🙂

55. Congratulations Linda, a happy vibrant verse.
    Thanks for pausing on one of mine, John.

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