Renku, March 2009

World Haiku Review, Volume 7, Issue 1, March 2009

Renku, March 2009

"stirred embers"

Nijuin renku

The five poets are:

Claire Chatelet (sprite), United Kingdom

Moira Richards, South Africa

Karen Cesar, USA

_kala, India

Eiko Yachimoto, Japan

stirred embers

a winter nijuin

winter days -

we dream of becoming

another Chiyo-ni

North Wind dances

with the new tree on the block

in a soot-blackened

hearth, stirred embers

whirling and twirling

the fine whiskers

of a sumi-e cat

***

why split hairs, silly moon

the mountain rose also

has its charms

gran consults the almanach

to replant her salads

icy showers

far more gentle

than the smile on his face

run fast from strangers

offering sweeties, my child

that last piece

of Juicy Fruit gum

stuck to pink sneakers

world thru' her tennis racket

sits in neat squares

***

colorless wind

Blue Fuji floats over

the flood tide

enshrined in mist

the softness of this moon

my son's bride

her wedding saree

a river of stars

I am my beloved’s

and my beloved is mine

housebound

I draw ensô on paper

. . . space appears

a rerun of Narnia

at the local cinema

***

what I love most

about the 'net, she says

is the friends I've found

every five days be sure

to add flour and milk

billowing blossom cloud

she secretly dyes

her homespun threads

riding on air

the first note of a bamboo flute

***

Claire Chatelet (sprite), United Kingdom (v 1, 4, 6, 12, 16)

Moira Richards, South Africa (v 2, 8, 13, 17)

Karen Cesar, USA (v 3, 5, 9, 14, 18 )

_kala, India (v 7, 10, 15, 20)

Eiko Yachimoto, Japan (v 11, 19)