The Renku Sessions: Salmon Run – Week 12
Hello, renku friends. I am John Stevenson and it has been my pleasure to lead you in a brief, twelve verse renku before Kala Ramesh starts her session in February.
Here is my short list for the ageku (final verse):
the young colt
bucks and rolls
Kristen Lindquist
the frog jumps
high and far
Urszula Marciniak
light spring gusts
ruffle the chrysalis
Belinda Behne
east wind
blowing the clouds away
Milan Rajkumar
children spot faces
in the spring clouds
Richard Straw
a butterfly
for a moment
Carol Jones
shell gathering
barefooted
Pamela Garry
a trail of footprints
in the spring mud
Sean Murphy
cherrystone clams
ready for shucking
James Penha
kites catching up
to the spring wind
madeleine kavanagh
green of spring fields
on the terraced slope
VJ Green
from a crack in the paving
the first ant feels the air
Marion Clarke
our road trip
becomes a pilgrimage
Tracy Davidson
a swallow on each arm
of the signpost
Keith Evetts
birdsong drifts
through the morning haze
Anne Fox
he jumps off the swing
to learn how to fly
Laurie Greer
butterflies flutter
from a lifted branch
rob barkan
a butterfly
closes its wings
Pauline O’Carolan
east wind
tugging on my sleeve
Orense Nicod
laundry drying
on a spring wind
Margaret Anderson
a robin listens
to the earth’s hum
Debbie Scheving
a soap bubble wobbles
out of its wand
wendy c. bialek
So many of you have been offering your creativity. I feel sorry that there has only been enough opportunity to include twelve verses in the final work. Truly, though, a renku is less about the final product than it is about the experience of creating it.
Although I have been constantly emphasizing that renku verses other than the hokku are not haiku, I hope that the process of writing sharply focused and sincerely open-ended images will provide many of you with strong foundational material for future haiku.
Here is my choice for the ageku:
a soap bubble wobbles
out of its wand
wendy c. bialek
There were so many great offers this time. I selected this one because I love the sound of it and the image of impending release feels perfect for the ageku.
Here are some of the other verses from my short list that I would like to comment upon:
a butterfly
for a moment
Carol Jones
By now you probably realize that I favor the strongest combination of clarity, focus and brevity. This verse would also have made a great ageku. To me, it says our time together, though brief, has been beautiful.
a butterfly
closes its wings
Pauline O’Carolan
I would say exactly the same things about this verse.
a swallow on each arm
of the signpost
Keith Evetts
An ageku does well to suggest that life goes on, even if we are now about to go our separate ways.
Here is our renku:
Salmon Run – A Twelve Verse Renku
a brief rest
before the rapids
salmon run
Sally Biggar
crescent moon
clearing the fence
Orense Nicod
a ghost light
keeping the stage
alive
scott anderson
the echo
of slave chants
Abigail Friedman
snowflakes fall
on the shredded stalks
of cotton
Milan Rajkumar
love at first swipe
on the dating app
Laurie Greer
he shoplifts
her favorite perfume
for her birthday
Kristen Lindquist
bloated tick
on a fawn’s ear
Margaret Anderson
a confession
the priest
would rather forget
Tracy Davidson
the (redacted) of the
(redacted) States of (redacted)
Michael Henry Lee
lilac
bending to the
left & right
Curt Linderman
a soap bubble wobbles
out of its wand
wendy c. bialek
This week we will be reflecting upon our experiences while creating “Salmon Run” together. That will remain the title but I enjoy considering what other phrases within the renku might also have made good titles. I hope some of you will also enjoy that exercise and will share your ideas with me.
Please use the submission box, below to enter your comments and title suggestions. Submissions of your comments will be open until midnight, eastern US time, on Monday, February 2. A selection of your comments and some final comments from me will appear here on Thursday, February 5.
Looking forward to hearing from you!
John
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