The Renku Sessions: Way of the Wind – Week 9
I am John Stevenson and I will be your guide for a twenty-stanza, nijûin, renku.
Coming to this point in a renku feels to me like suddenly coming to a long stretch of open highway after navigating a narrow and winding mountain road. This is our chance to step on the accelerator and give it some gas!
You have come through with a wonderful range of possibilities. My report could almost consist of just listing everything that was offered. Cutting it down to a more manageable set of verses, here are some I particularly enjoyed:
whiskey neat sloshing
on crumpled pages
Betty Shropshire
one glob of ink
cockles the paper
Carol Jones
landing in the drunk tank
after failing the walk-and-turn
Laurie Greer
talk of ending
the senate filibuster
Chris Patchel
his sketches find
a place on the wall
Nancy Brady
she throws the compass overboard
for always pointing north
Keith Evetts
cage free chickens must
drive themselves to market
Michael Henry Lee
sumi-e cliffs inked
with a wobbly brush
Marietta McGregor
even as we argue
new planets are born
Marietta McGregor
an empty frame
now ready to be filled
Tracy Davidson
apropos of
“A Confederacy of Dunces”
Betty Shropshire
a few strokes in charcoal
and the portrait’s done
Ellen Compton
elbows touch in greeting
at the summit
Keith Evetts
between sky and sea
the colors of the freight train parade
Angiola Inglese
penciling in
a doctor’s appointment
Pauline O’Carolan
another bounced cheque
in today’s mail
Barbara A. Taylor
unappreciated caricature
thrown in the trash
Debbie Feller
beads of rain
glistening on a wire
Michelle Beyers
someone once said
it takes a train to cry
Lorin Ford
While these and others would have served our needs, there were a few that were especially attractive to me:
anxiety relieved
by popping bubble-wrap
Andrew Shimield
I will probably not select another verse from Andrew in this renku but he continues to make good suggestions. Named emotions is a vast topic area and comes along very nicely after the subdued, implied emotion of the previous love verse.
what to do
with all the iron filings
Laurie Greer
As I’m sure Laurie also knows, I probably won’t use another verse from her in this renku. But, as she also knows, I’m glad to see her continue to play along. And I want to highlight her verse for the comic twist it gives to the “attraction” of verse seven.
actors told
to stick to the script
Carol Jones
Theater is an attractive topic and the constraints of scripted theater pairs nicely with the vows of a long marriage. (I don’t know how many of you know it, but I have been performing a kind of improvisational theater for the past thirty years)
a bike retrofitted
with shock absorbers
Maxianne Berger
Probably not a bicycle built for two!
Monterey mermaid
knitting a seaweed sweater
Dan Campbell
And Dan knows that he will probably not have another verse included in this renku; especially not when the verse before last was his own. But I’m delighted that he continues to play and the sheer goofiness of this verse is exactly right for this middle section.
Here is what I have selected as our eighth verse:
queuing up to enter
the Escher exhibit
Carol Judkins
This introduces the topics of art, museum and a large gathering of people. The juxtaposition of a line (an orderly line?) with an artist noted for deceptively presented perspectives is interesting. I imagine a line in which one thinks the entry door is drawing near, only to discover that a trick of perspective has, instead, put one at the end of the line.
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
We will now continue with non-seasonal verses. No kigo should be included and no images that have their own places in a renku – no moon, no love, no blossoms. Let us continue to focus on broadening the topic areas with subject matter not previously touched upon.
The requirements for verse nine will be as follows:
- A three-line verse of seventeen syllables or less
- With no seasonal image (no kigo)
- Without a grammatical break
- Linking in some way to verse eight (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, June 28 (New York time). On Thursday, July 1 there will be a new post in which I will announce my selection of the ninth verse, comment on some of the other offers, and issue instructions for writing verse ten.
Good work, everyone,
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 84 Comments
Comments are closed.
contour of the
coast swells
into purple haze
Michelle Beyers
Copyright © 6/28/21
queuing up to enter
the Escher exhibit
Carol Judkins
***
I pause
the monochromatic scale
of your thoughts
***
mingling in the stairs
and fashionably late
for the buffet
***
slow start
a squeegee kid
shows me the directions
***
dude
mistaking me for
his dear dead dad
our canoe
scrapes gravel bars
in gentle currents
************************
at the hay barn in
sprawling in the shade,
pups suckle
*************************
through bottom land,
the creek meanders,
eroding soil
pups suckle
in a public square
dissidents dismantle
a bronze statue/
this paperweight
just might be
a meteorite
Oops, probably too close to ‘drawn to’
the video
set to blur
on zoom
*
pixel by pixel
I grow younger
in photoshop
all his drawing
to be wet by water
tumbled down sudden
***
2) return from mall
by a sudden
phone call
**
all his exercise
only for trip
and fall
**
from empty jar
crow’s beak
empty mound
.
.
queuing up to enter
the Escher exhibit
.
Carol Judkins
.
.
what’s in a mane?
it falls in waves
around the ears
.
what’s in a mane?
bristling against the snarls
and a gnashing of teeth
.
what’s in a mane?
a score
to settle
.
what’s in a mane?
the fine art of
fingering
.
what’s in a mane?
three long hanks
cross-examined
.
what’s in a mane?
the confidence of
commitment
.
.
queuing up to enter
the Escher exhibit
Carol Judkins
*
in the park
chess players watch
spinning totems
*
the debate team stuck
on defining
democratic voting
*
or, without any people:
voting rights
painted
into a corner
*
spinning tops
on every table
in the park
*
newly taped posters
inhale and exhale
on the dorm wall
6/27/2021 by wendy © bialek
patterns growing
out of itself and
off the page
6/27/2021 by wendy © bialek
changes:
a pattern has grown
out of the page
and out of itself
6/27/2021 by wendy © bialek
Congrats Carol! Perhaps inspiration will come, but not feeling it at the moment, so probably sit this one out and enjoy reading the submitted verses.
queuing up to enter
the Escher exhibit
Carol Judkins
.
labyrinths
multiply in the other
hemisphere
or:
.
labyrinths
in the other hemisphere
multiply
how the room spins
after that
spontaanikäymisolut*
– Betty Shropshire
*Noun
spontaanikäymisolut
spontaneous fermentation beer, wild yeast beer (beer fermented using spontaneous fermentation caused by “wild” yeast)
in and yang
in the faded colors
of a tattoo
***
typos
in a book of poetry
badly printed
***
the heat of Florence
blushes the cheeks
of David’s admirers
***
approaching the sea
at a walking pace
a klaxon concert
if i could fly
i’m already inside
shining eyes
Nani Mariani
queuing up to enter
the Escher exhibit
Carol Judkins
the elevator
arrives on the ground floor
with an empty cage
—–
the echoes
of pandemonic laughter
in the vestibule
homesick
extraterrestrial
turning to go home
*
wishing
upon the light
from dead stars
congrats, Carol, and thanks John for your comments,
grinning all the way
on a stairway
to heaven
*
stuck in the maze
I beg you to show me
which way out
*
Delta Virus
ever multiplying, sweeps
through our lives
empty
aquarium in the
waiting room
*
message
in a bottle
riding the waves
Congratulations to Carol! Thank you, John, for the mention.
…
Verse 1:
…
they fled
the city lockdown
but took the virus with them
…
Verse 2:
…
just dinner
inside the cafe
and virus the result
…
Verse 3:
…
at the country show
he won first prize
for his embroidery
…
Verse 4:
…
mask refusal
displays
more than expression
…
Verse 5:
…
there was
a free for all
in the toilet paper aisle
congrats to Carol, and thanks, John, for pausing at mine .. am ensconced in a project so might sit out this week, although I realize it gets more and more difficult .. best to all who are toughing it through ☺
a flash mob
gathers to sing
Peace Train
queuing up to enter
the Escher exhibit
.
Carol Judkins
.
back to the library
with the keys
to other worlds
queuing up to enter
the Escher exhibit
Carol Judkins
.
the metamorphosis
of all the frogs
in the pond
.
the chaos of being lost
in the maze
of her nightmare
.
Nancy Brady, 2021
another test
to prove I’m not
a robot
added cheat
and stupidity
to her eulogy
feathered and human
scavengers clawing
through the landfill
ever notice
how bone changes
a chainsaw’s tune
*
why is gross weight
larger than
curb weight?
– Betty Shropshire
queuing up to enter
the Escher exhibit
.
Carol Judkins
.
something extra
left in the baker’s
bag of loaves
Too soon for a person, I think, so here’s an edited version:
.
someting extra
left in the bag
of bakery loaves
our flight from Denver
to Seattle marred
by a maskless man
escalator fears
lead him in frantic search
for stable stairs
queuing up to enter
the Escher exhibit
Carol Judkins
Russian dolls
look through
a stack of reveries
—————————————-
(I considered:
spiralling into
Fibonacci daydreams
each in the other
and
fractal curves
of the new Guggenheim
in the cumulus
…but thought: after we have just had Escher, John isn’t going to want another named person, right?)
Right, Keith! We’ll want at least a couple more verses before including another proper noun. Ideally, more than a couple.
queuing up to enter
the Escher exhibit
Carol Judkins
plenty of time
to look for UFOs
above the skyscrapers
on the led billboard
a blow by blow account
of heard immunity
Heard -herd. A play on the sound of the word. Are we listening?
queuing up to enter
the Escher exhibit
Carol Judkins
mass vaccination
rolled out
across the country
because of hobby
i enjoy it
without doubt
Nani Mariani
Yay Carol! Thank you for giving us such a fun verse to write to!
spiral slide hides
the surprise of someone
too scared to go down
UAP’s revving the
Earth on their way
to the Senate
Michelle Beyers
Copyright © 6/25/21
a voice from outside
the perimeter
of our campfire
queuing up to enter
the Escher exhibit
*
making of quilling
a matter
for fractals
*
Wanted this to be quilting, but afraid that’s a winter kigo. But the paper craft should still work.
queuing up to enter
the Escher exhibit
Carol Judkins
gladiators stabled
on a different level
to wildlife
queuing up to enter
the Escher exhibit
Carol Judkins
lights camera action
as we stride into
the auditorium
queuing up to enter
the Escher exhibit
Carol Judkins
his Janus face
worn only
for effect
queuing up to enter
the Escher exhibit
Carol Judkins
the only thing
melting today
is my makeup
queuing up to enter
the Escher exhibit
Carol Judkins
we go round
and round loving
the spin we’re in
queuing up to enter
the Escher exhibit
– Carol Judkins
•
floored by
another pundit’s
nothingburger
– Betty Shropshire
Please disregard this one.
Congratulations Carol and I enjoyed reading about your improv theater experience John!
*
A wintry wind
chose his final
resting place
Old roosters
cough more
than crow
Only castles count
the seconds
between waves
I’ve touched
the top of a fallen
redwood tree
Only in the city
do you stop to watch
a dog pee
*
queuing up to enter
the Escher exhibit
Carol Judkins
*
proof
of geometry’s
everyday uses
*
she exits
through the gift shop
with unpaid gifts
*
another set of prints
helping police
with their enquiries
*
his perspective
altered
by the doctor’s news
*
she still struggles
to make sense
of the shrink’s ink blots
queuing up to enter
the Escher exhibit
Carol Judkins
***
ah …
this is very reasonable
for prestigious works
Nani Mariani
queuing up to enter
the Escher exhibit
Carol Judkins
****
if
i brought candy
will be entertained
Nani Mariani
queuing up to enter
the Escher exhibit
Carol Judkins
how the rain
makes me skip
over clouds
6/25/2021 by wendy © bialek
queuing up to enter
the Escher exhibit
Carol Judkins
what the
queen of diamonds
morphed to be
6/25/2021 by wendy © bialek
queuing up to enter
the Escher exhibit
Carol Judkins
aesthetes recoil
from a sine wave
concertina’d in a spring
queuing up to enter
the Escher exhibit
Carol Judkins
strokes of genius
in the robot’s algorithm
masterpiece
*
quantum leaps
down the black holes
of conspiracy theories
Congratulations Carol, and thank you John, I enjoyed all the commentary.
queuing up to enter
the Escher exhibit
*
the rejiggered codes
for Crispr versions
of ourselves
*
Congratulations, Carol. Now that’s an interesting line-up. 🙂 The polite queue waiting to enter Escher’s universe will probably find what appears to be a similar queue in one of the exhibition pieces .
.
queuing up to enter
the Escher exhibit
Carol Judkins
couch potatoes
glued to one more episode
of Upstairs Downstairs
.
knowing then
what we know now
we’re still not quite sure
**************************
it’s harder
getting work now
as an illustrated man
***************************
the right hand
never knows what
the left hand is doing
*****************************
her entire
trip abroad restricted
to quarantine
****************************
the unwatched pot
boils furiously
over
queuing up to enter
the Escher exhibit
Carol Judkins
transformed
by a world placed
inside out
6/24/2021 by wendy © bialek
all fine picks and fun commentary john.
congrats carol j. for a great following and turn to the escher art !
queuing up to enter
the Escher exhibit
Carol Judkins
Wow, thanks John! And thanks all for the supportive comments!
Well done Carol. Lots of possibility with your verse.
queuing up to enter
the Escher exhibit
– Carol Judkins
•
framed
and judged guilty
was just a nightmare
– Betty Shropshire
perhaps a bit better:
to be framed
and judged guilty
was just a nightmare
– Betty Shropshire
queuing up to enter
the Escher exhibit
Carol Judkins
the days I spent
stacking eggboxes
to pay for college
….or, if we don’t want the first person, simply:
the days spent
stacking eggboxes
to pay for college
So = another intriguing twist! Well done, Carol.
queuing up to enter
the Escher exhibit
Carol Judkins
do you think
they discovered chaos theory
by chance
peddles hit
the metal
as the barrier rises
Too close to Laurie’s verse 3,
pots and pans – metal?
Or could be ‘pedals hit the floor’ ?
Good suggestion Keith, thank you.
Thank you, John, for your helpful comments and for pausing on mine. Congratulations, Carol.
daydreaming
as I eye
ascending triangles
Michelle Beyers
Copyright © 6/24/21
Congratulations, Carol Judkins. A very nice choice, John, and thankyou for pausing on some of my verses. Enjoyed reading your comments. Seems you’re a bit of a, dark horse.
Congratulations, Carol! A brilliant follow-up to Wendy’s. And thanks, John, for the comments and notice.
*
queuing up to enter
the Escher exhibit
Carol Judkins
*
every inch
the perfect
master of ceremonies
*
congratulations a Carol Judkins for the chosen verse, thanks a John Stevenson for having named mine too