by Deb Scott
A few weeks ago Tom’s article inspired us (Christine and I) to ask you to help us write a rengu. Below is that result, so far. (The linked first word leads you to the contributor’s blog.)
Hot pavements –
littered with
tired bees.
Sunshine on fresh grass
I am stuck inside
writing poetry.
A meandering of ants
to a forgotten popsicle.
Dry dust stirred up by traffic
unwelcome inside the store.
Sweet scent of honey
overlaid with muskiness –
melted candy bar.
Offices fake coolness, but
hot red skin remembers sun.
Peeled by a loved one –
those seven humid nights
spent in Acapulco.
Miramar beach trash
seagulls sorting through the bones.
Old town back alley, chill dawn
numb hungry dumpster-divers.
Leftovers telling
thrown out a moving window
yesterdays old news.
Papers full of fried potato
left on a bench;
pigeons flocking.
Little girl squeals with delight
as feathers burst to the sky.
Snowflakes: delighted schoolboys
cheer the hope of canceled school.
In the upside down
seasons change
without us.
* * *
Our renku is 33 lines. We were aiming for 36 lines, but we hardly kept to formal rules, did we? If anyone wants to add a three three-line hokku to finish it up, leave it in the comments. (News: Yay!, Brian. We have our hokku to finish the renku, quite nicely, I might add.) And, if you want to collaborate with someone else, leave a link here — or go leave a comment on someone’s blog and have a conversation!
Enjoy! And come back on the 18th for the Get Your Poem On for Christine’s prompt about elegies and remembrances.
In the upside down
seasons change
without us
I loved this. Will there be another soon?
Also, I am looking for people who are looking to collaborate.
Hi C. Elizabeth,
Glad you enjoyed this!
In addition to collaboration opportunities here at RWP, check out these projects that a few RWP participants also engage in (Some offer ideas where you can play on your own, or with others, one prompt at a time, others are all-play-all-the-time, I think. Browse through the abouts to see what each site thinks & offers.):
http://patchworkpoetry.blogspot.com/
http://thepoetrycollaborative.org/
And as other opportunities arise, we will point them out to everyone!
a finish?
winter affection
comfort love solace amiss
second life requite
Fall lipstick-
shades of painted trees,
cosmetic counters.