The Renku Sessions: Salmon Run – Week 1
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
Great to see so many offers this week. Here is my short list for the hokku:
falling leaves
a discordant sky
between us
Joanna Ashwell
our scarecrow
with grandma’s bonnet
and grandpa’s boots
Dan Campbell
mackerel clouds
this sudden clarity
of my journey
Milan Rajkumar
subtle cedar smell
coming from the comforter
fleeting autumn
Michael Henry Lee
autumn dusk
old neighbors let their dogs
play together
Richard Straw
grazing on fog
elk in the mountain
orchard
wendy c. bialek
mystery mountain
the yes no maybe
of moonlight
wendy c. bialek
crimson and gold
line the maple’s
autumn gown
Belinda Behne
bright moon
the fences
lean toward it
Orense Nicod
autumn lamplight –
out across the home paddock
silhouettes of sheep
Lorin Ford
park bench
room for one
between the leaves
andrew shimield
beaver moon
waiting
for the green light
Biswajit Mishra
hoppin’ the train
to nowhere special
autumn breeze
Keith Evetts
trivia night
between questions
a handful of beech nuts
Laurie Greer
not a light
for miles
the lonely moon
Melissa Dennison
nameless—
the moon-mirrored trees
covered in snow
Fatma Zohra Habis
a brief rest
before the rapids
salmon run
Sally Biggar
dragonflies
the grandchild switches
from toy to toy
Amoolya Kamalnath
the tangled voices
of migrating geese…
election day
Jonathan Alderfer
sumo wrestling
father and son
fight over the remote
Tracy Davidson
park benches
phones glow
brighter than tsuki
Raji Vijayaraghavan
Bon Festival
Wind swept stones
With names
scott anderson
dew frost
first prints
at the dog park
Lyle Smith
clearing
the fog
autumn sky
madeleine kavanagh
What I have looked for, after the basics of kigo, a single grammatical break and clarity of image are satisfied, additionally included a tone appropriate to hokku, a sense of inception and a phrase that will serve well as our title.
When I say “appropriate tone,” I am aware that a twelve verse renku does not necessarily reflect the jo, ha, kyu structure of a longer work. And I am also aware that, in any renku, the hokku is given more license than other verses. But, with so many great verses to choose from, I can indulge my preference for something exhibiting the emotional range typical of the jo.
So, this is how we will start our new renku:
Salmon Run – A Twelve Verse Renku
a brief rest
before the rapids
salmon run
Sally Biggar
This week we will be writing the two-line second verse. This will be an autumn moon verse. It can be linked to the first verse as an expansion and continuation of the same scene but using no images already included in the first verse.
Please use the submission box, below to enter up to five of your verses. Submissions will close at midnight, eastern US time, on Monday, November 17. My selection of a second verse and instructions for the third verse will appear here on Thursday, November 20.
Looking forward to your verses!
John
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