The Renku Sessions: Salmon Run – Week 9
Hello, renku friends. I am John Stevenson and I will be leading you in a brief, twelve verse renku before Kala Ramesh starts her session in February.
For verses that require a kigo (formal season word or phrase) we will be using The Five Hundred Essential Japanese Season Words: https://thehaikufoundation.org/omeka/items/show/821
Here is my short list for the ninth verse:
a whisper
makes its way
around the room
Sean Murphy
paperback books
stacked neatly
on the nightstand
Rebeca Thomas
wrinkled hands
making shadow puppets
on the bedroom wall
Richard Straw
a new bill
separating grifters
from their graft
Richard Straw
a childhood
shrinks to fit
matchbox cars
Laurinda Lind
she had almost
forgotten the pain of
childbirth
Urszula Marciniak
he says he likes
to talk and does
but does not listen
James Penha
making amerika great again
one billionaire
at a time
Michael Henry Lee
the doctor saying
it’s time for a
partial knee replacement
Andrew Pineo
the mantlepiece clock
marks the hours
oh so slowly
Pauline O’Carolan
cataract free
without glasses
sitting on my nose
Veronica Hosking
finding
grandma’s pearls
in a shoebox
Martina Matijević
spelunking
the closet for
my left shoe
VJ Green
cerulean blue
emesis bags
on the breakfast table
Pamela Garry
faux fur
splattered with paint
anyway
Anne Fox
back when a diet
depended
on self-discipline
Laurie Greer
the service
for a dozen
still in its box
Laurie Greer
a confession
the priest
would rather forget
Tracy Davidson
a toddler licks
the last bit of Nutella
off their plate
Abigail Friedman
the ache of
saddle polish
on old leather
Rachel Greve
the piñata
explodes with
a thwack
Orense Nicod
a crutch
left outside
the grotto
Margaret Anderson
knees
sore
from kneeling
Belinda Behne
grandpa’s ascites
makes him
look pregnant
wendy c. bialek
sweaty gym air
filled with the clank
of barbells
rob barkan
a dictator’s
Swiss account
stuffed with cash
scott anderson
the flying nun
holds on
to her cornette
madeleine kavanagh
What a wonderful set of options you have created this week! And the variety of linking strategies is impressive. Some links relate to “bloated,” some to “tick” (either as a tiny bug or as a sound), some to “ear” as attention or by way of something that can be heard, some to the idea of something on someone’s head, and some to the idea of “landing.” These are not all of the links. One that I particularly like is by the sense of something disturbingly “placed.”
My selection is going to be painful, requiring that I leave many tempting options behind.
One thing this illustrates is that the simplest of images and shortest of verses can still contain broad possibilities of association.
Here is my choice for the ninth verse:
a confession
the priest
would rather forget
Tracy Davidson
This is one of the “ear” links. It also carries the notion of something with troubling consequences. That the priest would rather forget suggests that he will be unable to do so.
The broad themes of religion and profession are introduced with this verse.
And this is another simple verse that offers vast associations.
Here are a few of the other verses from my short list that I would like to comment upon:
the piñata
explodes with
a thwack
Orense Nicod
The option of a more emphatic sound image is tempting. We already have a verse from Orense. This offers me a chance to say thank you to all the poets already included for continuing to participate, knowing that I will not be selecting a second verse by any one poet. The point of renku is all about playing.
finding
grandma’s pearls
in a shoebox
Martina Matijević
As someone who has witnessed the course of dementia in loved ones, I relate to the idea of discovering physical objects in sometimes bizarre locations. That is not the only way to read this image, of course.
the ache of
saddle polish
on old leather
Rachel Greve
I just love the sheer poetry of this.
spelunking
the closet for
my left shoe
VJ Green
Also, great fun. And, surprisingly, would have been our only “first person” verse.
Here is our renku, so far:
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
This week we will be writing a two-line non-seasonal verse. It must not contain a kigo from our list of seasonal words and phrases. I would like to see a first person verse, with a proper noun, particularly one indicating a place.
Please use the submission box, below to enter up to five of your verses. Submissions will be closed at midnight, eastern US time, on Monday, January 12. My selection of a tenth verse and instructions for the eleventh verse will appear here on Thursday, January 15.
Looking forward to your offers!
John
THF strives to maintain a safe and friendly environment for our readers and site participants. Participation in our offerings assumes respectful and appropriate behavior of all parties. We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone, for any reason, at any time.
If you see something you feel may violate our Code of Conduct, please report it to the appropriate moderator or the President here.
