Let me explain! At the end of the essay on renga, I offered folks an opportunity to try their hand at this lovely form of collaborative poetry. Five brave souls agreed to give it a whirl. While renga traditionally came with many rules and conventions, we decided on the following:
One other point. Renga differs from our usual idea of poetry not only in being collaborative. The finished renga is not a unified whole in the same way most poetry is. Each verse is a stand~alone, but is linked to the one before it, though not to the ones that precede that one. So the completed poem likely won't have an overall point or theme. It is some wild and living thing that morphs and shifts, and where you find yourself in verse 23, for example, cannot be guessed from, and won't be immediately connected to, where you were in verse 12. Renga's beauty is in the action, in the flow and jump between verses. As each stanza is added, the other writers might even need a moment or two to get the connection, to recognize the link in the author's mind.
And if I might wax a bit philosophical, I've learned that renga is a lot like life. Something comes your way. You may like it or not, feel moved by it or not. Now, though, it's yours to decide how you'll turn it before passing it on. Renga is good practice for life, and quite fun. It's not what's handed to you that matters. It's what you do with it.
Now we celebrate our departed~ fruit and seed freely offered,
With sugar skulls and dancing bones... wheel turns once more~~autumn
golden quilt seeping sunlight, turning, turning, this becomes that,
Sun and Earth drift apart, and shifts into darkness now,
Renga 1A Renga 1B
Aaaahhhh....we are now complete!
A heart~felt thank you to everyone who participated, in whatever way and however often. You each are part of these renga, 6 months in the making. Glad to have you!
Cyberhugs and blessings to you all!
Loanne Marie
- Our finished renga will consist of the standard 36 verses.
- Verses of 3 lines will alternate with verses of 2 lines.
- There are no rules regarding syllable count. Verses will be kept short; it is suggested that they take no longer than 5 seconds when read aloud.
- One writer was to offer an opening 3 line verse, the hokku. As is traditional, this reflected the current season. (Incidentally, renga usually move around the seasons as the poem progresses, changing every few stanzas.)
- Subsequent verses are offered by whomever feels inspired. This way, no one feels on the hot seat or pressured to respond.
- Should two or more folks respond to the same verse, the original renga splits. We actually began with two renga, as two folks offered an initial hokku, but both have long ago split into two. We've since decided that we will stay with just these four renga, primarily due to logistics and space issues. If two folks respond to the same verse, the offering of the person who hasn't responded in a while will be chosen.
We also decided that we'd feel free to throw in some other conventions~~or make them up as we go along. For example, it was suggested for verse 5 below that, in keeping with convention, we mention the moon. Someone may also say something like, "Okay, let's have the next stanza refer to love...or let's change to the next season...etc." Or someone can offer something, like "The next verse must make reference to a shade of red, or to food."
I will be hosting this renga. Folks send their verse offerings to me by email to: fromthezafu@mac.com and after some period of time, I post them here. We're making this up as we go along folks, so don't be shy.
One other point. Renga differs from our usual idea of poetry not only in being collaborative. The finished renga is not a unified whole in the same way most poetry is. Each verse is a stand~alone, but is linked to the one before it, though not to the ones that precede that one. So the completed poem likely won't have an overall point or theme. It is some wild and living thing that morphs and shifts, and where you find yourself in verse 23, for example, cannot be guessed from, and won't be immediately connected to, where you were in verse 12. Renga's beauty is in the action, in the flow and jump between verses. As each stanza is added, the other writers might even need a moment or two to get the connection, to recognize the link in the author's mind.
And if I might wax a bit philosophical, I've learned that renga is a lot like life. Something comes your way. You may like it or not, feel moved by it or not. Now, though, it's yours to decide how you'll turn it before passing it on. Renga is good practice for life, and quite fun. It's not what's handed to you that matters. It's what you do with it.
So enough of that! Here's what we have in process at this point~~
Renga 1:
Oh beloved Solstice~~
Never ending days taste of
Sweet summer fruit...
Ahhh...sun's daze
of vine and roses
tang explodes
on tongue~~
first tomato!
Red ripples down,
Oh...the lusciousness
of those layered clouds
of those layered clouds
in western sky,
slivered moon peeking
fuller in each night's sky
fuller in each night's sky
'til sun kisses moon full on lips waiting
Renga 1A Renga 1B
Waning and waxing, Suddenly the breast beats hard
kissing and dissing, As being longs for such a kiss
temperatures cool~~Harvest Moon! light begins to dim and fade
Renga 1A Renga 1B
Waning and waxing, Suddenly the breast beats hard
kissing and dissing, As being longs for such a kiss
temperatures cool~~Harvest Moon! light begins to dim and fade
Garden draped against the frost, Wildness whispers...tempting slyly
ghost children in the dark fear befalls the frozen heart
knife slicing into tender skin fear and wildness, enduring dance...
innards scooped, maniacal grin~~ freeze and thaw, shrink and stretch,
flaming jack o'lantern! hearts crack, open, bloom
flaming jack o'lantern! hearts crack, open, bloom
Now we celebrate our departed~ fruit and seed freely offered,
With sugar skulls and dancing bones... wheel turns once more~~autumn
skeletal worshipers sway and bow, Earth's palette ablaze,
sun~drenched leaves release... how palpable the gift...
aspens' hommage to Earth returning always, all ways!
golden quilt seeping sunlight, turning, turning, this becomes that,
warmth for dark days coming soon, Light changing forms eternal
Sun and Earth drift apart, and shifts into darkness now,
coolness grows...fickle Sun sap draws down, hugs bone...
eyes another (hemi) sphere the hush of all living things
Yearning for Sun's barely remembered kiss,
Fanning long~banked passion to flame once again
cooling now under mounded snow,
unrelenting sun a half~remembered dream
Renga 1 (joined again)
south and north
south and north
flow as one
season~spin unending
Renga 1A Renga 1B
life to death and back again, twirling sufi spins
Inside...outside...growing weary love eternal, Bismillah!
of short dark days as a rose by any name
candlemas arrives labels matter not
sun perks up God~smell tastes sweet
eyes grow wide awareness stills, opens
of short dark days as a rose by any name
candlemas arrives labels matter not
sun perks up God~smell tastes sweet
eyes grow wide awareness stills, opens
anticipation tingles God~speak fills with silence
lover's touch returns still to fill, listen to nothing
thrills, warms heart opens, thoughts loosen,
sleeping crocus stirs boundaries blur...poof!
blessed senses! like dandelion fuzz on a breeze
nothing goes unnoticed... notions of "I" scatter
thrills, warms heart opens, thoughts loosen,
sleeping crocus stirs boundaries blur...poof!
blessed senses! like dandelion fuzz on a breeze
nothing goes unnoticed... notions of "I" scatter
or without response thoughts on fire,
tho perhaps unseen heat stifles silence
hidden bulb opens Samu awaits
shoot breaks surface, bubbles sponge dish presence
shoot breaks surface, bubbles sponge dish presence
green rising through April snow buddha baby in soapy water
Note: Rumi, our guest poet, offered these next two...
the green ones have come... the Friend is here
tipsy like the breeze like water in the stream,
up to some new foolishness like a lotus on the water
tickling me awake air molecules to expanse of sky
vision clears...oh, my! Earthsong in the uni~verse
as reeds at water's edge awakening at last
awaken with dawn, tender life breaks thru warming dirt
tingling toward a new day spring again!
Seeds nestle into fresh~hoed soil days stretch, perfectly filling
itchin' to root and to shoot space left by receding dark
Renga 1 (joined again!)
perennials roused from sleep,
we lengthen and deepen, too~~
eternal dance
skyward calls...
sandhill cranes heading to the Bosque
Renga 1 (joined again!)
perennials roused from sleep,
we lengthen and deepen, too~~
eternal dance
skyward calls...
sandhill cranes heading to the Bosque
auditory reminders
to seek our own far shore
no matter the distance
ripples move shore to shore
connecting near with far
ripples move shore to shore
connecting near with far
pollen flows
sneeze explodes
June thru open window
Thoughts caught off guard,
Visions of seasons long ago
And coming soon and again
as spinning we move
ever 'round the Circle, enchanted
Longing to become
Who we already are....
And coming soon and again
as spinning we move
ever 'round the Circle, enchanted
Longing to become
Who we already are....
beneath snow and soil
a seed stirs
consciousness dawns
Life everlasting....
Amen.
Life everlasting....
Amen.
Renga 2:
Not yet officially summer, heat rises as
The granite dome sizzles and bids me come
Offering gifts of love and solace.
The rose and iris have run their course
The rose and iris have run their course
but oh, the hollyhocks
Now proclaim
Now proclaim
the garden theirs!
As they pierce the summer sky.
Yearning toward red-tails,
Yearning toward red-tails,
swept beyond on heat rising currents
hawkache for thermals
hawkache for thermals
rising forever into night, better to kiss
the wise sweet face of moon...
Hawkache, heartache,
Hawkache, heartache,
the longing of all things for magic
Currents, thermals, swirling 'round...
Is all that seems significant
but lost to all that Being is?
Awareness beckons...sing songs of Truth.
Scarlet maples, flaming true
Currents, thermals, swirling 'round...
above, below, within soul cries
searching, searching...but for what
freedom from the illusion
that it is separate from all that isfreedom from the illusion
Is all that seems significant
but lost to all that Being is?
Awareness beckons...sing songs of Truth.
Scarlet maples, flaming true
touch, listen, breathe...
Earth's breath building, blowing,
Earth's breath building, blowing,
keening through branches,
leaves swirl, clouds darken, snowflakes fly
Renga 2A Renga 2B
Renga 2A Renga 2B
young eyes watch white mounds form And blanket the earth in silent warmth
as father slaps and mother screams to rest and incubate Spring's newness
as father slaps and mother screams to rest and incubate Spring's newness
mittened hands scoop and pack, down below, who knows what goes,
snowy igloo forms... roots live, perchance, a wild life~~
cool haven from parents' heat mingling, coupling with abandon,
Decades pass, girl grows up, Ah, the shenanigans occurring
heart slowly dares to thaw beneath all proper, placid soil
january sun soil and cleanse
icicle stretches heat and cold
toward home this and that unfolding
icy finger, frozen heart wind whips still~wet sheets
form seeking movement earthbound sails unfurl
memories awaken, black against blue
melting amidst fear crow circles, slows, aims...
that clings to hope splat! raucous laughter
terrifying promise pealing glee
life spins on bells ring...joy!
warp and weft entwine days of young...
life emerges, evolves float on wave
unseen artist smiles crashing wildly
thread's perspective: droplets arc and come home
pull twist tug ouch! rainbow smiles flash, topsy turvy
Released from bindings, a perfect greeting
hearts play on, upon returning home~~
lifting, lilting over time. water releases to ocean
and space, here there now then, breath lets go to air
ever~evolving tapestry extends I dissolve into you
Note: Rumi, that guest poet extraordinaire, offered these next two...
when the soul lies down after a day or two
in that grass lilies sprout,
the world is too full to talk about the shape of my tongue
Lingering music of crescendo days, perfect for praising
Playing forward to renewed growth bloom of flower
lifting, lilting over time. water releases to ocean
and space, here there now then, breath lets go to air
ever~evolving tapestry extends I dissolve into you
Note: Rumi, that guest poet extraordinaire, offered these next two...
when the soul lies down after a day or two
in that grass lilies sprout,
the world is too full to talk about the shape of my tongue
Lingering music of crescendo days, perfect for praising
Playing forward to renewed growth bloom of flower
trees move from bud to leaf words drop from these lips
listen now with your other ear thudding rocks ill~equipped
tra~la, tra~la, tra~la~la~la! to hold such Light
still we offer well~chosen stones
homage to abundant magic
verse follows verse
individual rocks gently placed
renga cairns marking our trail
verse follows verse
individual rocks gently placed
renga cairns marking our trail
Renga 2 (joined again!)
song, word, leaf, bloom
praises all!
illness, violence, pain...
roughened songs of joy
trill all the sweeter
following a pinon path
illness, violence, pain...
roughened songs of joy
trill all the sweeter
as ripe red berry sings
summer's arrival to the tongue
following a pinon path
rinzai in nature
echos of eternity
cricket whirs, fan whirls
cool sheets, warm darkness covering
dreams enfold, unfold
shapes shift and morph
wide~awake edges blur
sunrise to sunset, light to dark,
sacred space between
Awakening the spirit,
Rising to awareness,
Rejecting the past.
Silence!
The sky is speaking.
Silence!
The sky is speaking.
Aaaahhhh....we are now complete!
A heart~felt thank you to everyone who participated, in whatever way and however often. You each are part of these renga, 6 months in the making. Glad to have you!
Cyberhugs and blessings to you all!
Loanne Marie
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