Rengay and Forked Rengay

Rengay Selections

Debi Bender, Editor

NOTE:

stanzas of partner #1 are in plain text

stanzas of partner #2 are in italics

........stanzas of partner #3 are indented

Karina Klesko, Louisiana, USA

sprite, London, UK

Deep Peace

Quiltmaker: Josette Le Bail, Marquise, France (image reprinted by permission)

The sea theme, as sprite relates, had become stronger than ever as the poem developed. WHC member, Daniel Py, who was translating the rengay into French, thought the word 'quilt' might not exist in the language. sprite (who is originally from France) meanwhile searched the Internet, viewing some amazing pages of women's needle work. Finding Josette Le Bail's quilt, both poets felt that the quilt paired with their poem serendipitously. Karina, whose beloved grandmother's hands (opening verse) are a recurrent image in her poetry, says: "the title of the quilt, "Deep Peace", spoke for itself and naturally glues the pieces together" and so they named their rengay after Josette's handiwork. The poem is dedicated to a friend of Karina's who died during the process. - DWB

Rythmns of Winter

a solo rengay

Karina Klesko, Louisiana, USA

bells sparkle -

teams of horses trot

rhythms of a winter's day

blades glimmer

a skater twirls across blue ice

lights shimmer

a tree rotates slowly

to holiday music

displays dazzle

sleighs filled with foil wrapped presents

children's eyes twinkle

icing cut out cookies

at grandma's house

candles glow

Silent Night drifts from choir lofts

a solo zip-rengay

Karina Klesko, Louisiana, USA

........morning chill...crippled hands

...knead bare clay...malleable

......a golden web...sunlight edges...workshop shelves

...........collecting...autumn leaves

.children rub them...against bisque molds

.....from raku fires...a quality of beauty

.........river egrets...necks arched in clouds

...........feet stuck...in sienna mud

....a gentle breeze...blossoms stir...on the plum tree

a solo rengay

D. W. Bender, Florida, USA

Frosty breath;

jasmine bower hung with

pine needles

Clarity dissolves

the last tuft of cirrus

A point of light

pierces open skies;

split contrail

One dove balanced

on crossed wires

Lace sheers;

window glass warms

the white cat

Chardonnay sipped

with sugar cookies

Completed in 2002

Gary Blankenship, California, USA

an'ya, Oregon, USA

A blue feather floats

out of reach -

Smoke hugs the ground.

indian summer

grandma suns the pillows

cookies decorated -

powdered sugar sneezes

splattering milk

newborn kittens

unvaccumed dust bunnies

around their bed

at the screen door,

a puppy whines for attention

squealing tires

on a country road -

the thistledown

a 2002 rengay tribute to Hiroshima survivors

.........H. Gene Murtha, USA

an'ya, Oregon, USA

Ron Moss, AU

hovering hawk -

a rabbit freezes

in the cornrow

earthquake . . .

captor and prey part company

Hiroshima Day

once again that moment

enters my mind

looking over their shoulders

the deer continue on

per its rage

finally the forest fire

quells itself

a handful of dirt

lands on the coffin lid

Completed, August 2002

kirsty karkow, Maine USA

an'ya, Oregon, USA

old cow path

a chipmunk's stripe zips

into a hole

at grandpa's farm

spitting down the well

intermittent rain

the Model T struggles

through tractor ruts

parade day --

all the plow horses

sport straw hats

gathered in the south forty

sheaves of golden wheat

family reunion . .

sticking toothpicks

in a sweet potato

Betty Kaplan, Florida, USA

Max Verhart, NL

under construction --

the detour sign

hangs upside down

shirts on the clothesline

waving at each other

hello! hello!

guess where I am

wrong side of the lake

that crooked old oak

looks just like the other one -

or is it the same?

suddenly, now so high up

I see an initialed heart

finally arrived

at our destination:

middle of nowhere

Rengay Selections - Forked Rengay

Debi Bender, Editor

3-Forked Zip-Rengay

in each poem, stanzas of participant #2 in italics

Karina Klesko, Louisiana, USA

Sprite, London, UK

............................moonlit....stones

............on her hat a flower....bobs along the hedgerow

...a sunflower...slowly wakes...to watch the dance

...................out from under...mushroom caps

....................the quickness...of a firefly's blink

................oh that blueness...like a periwinkle

.........................just there...there...oh gone

................birthday candles...through the window...a bright star

........................shiny eyes...crystal laughs

...........sparks...on a breeze...of fanciful dreams

Karina Klesko, Louisiana, USA

Gary Blankenship, USA

............................moonlit...stones

............on her hat a flower...bobs along the hedgerow

.......a white feather...drops...waiting for a bonnet

.........the cockatoo's crown...uncombed

................as it somersaults...its perch

............near the tiger cage...a harlequin

..............................sheds...one forever tear

...first safari...the man-child...winds his turban

.....................kittens stalk...the rock wall

...............bare feet swiped...she almost breaks his gift

Karina Klesko, Louisiana, USA

Mary Lee McClure, Indiana, USA

............................moonlit...stones

............on her hat a flower...bobs along the hedgerow

........................tomorrow...she will meet him...should she wish it

...........'twixt cliff and crags...enchanted twilight

...................silkworms spin...royal robes

............................rubbing...a moss covered stick

....................the little man...holds a sceptre

..............old world trickster...veiled chameleon...disappears

................her hat set aside...hers the crown

.............amidst joyous bells...the prince

A forked renku, renga or rengay, or any type of linked verse begins with a single hokku, shared between any number of linkages. From that point, other forks can be started at any other verse(s) in each fork. Here, Karina's haiku,

............................moonlit...stones

............on her hat a flower...bobs along the hedgerow

originally posted on WHChaikuforumworkshop for C&C, having gone through several changes with help from various members' suggestions, has become a forked rengay: 3 different branches from the same haiku, which serves as hokku for each.

Karina sent a note of gratitude with her submission:

Thanks to WHChaikuforumworkshop members. Everyone sent so many thoughts and comments to mold that poem -- and to enter into her journal.