Quartet ~ The Island _ Moongarlic Issue 1

The Island


the midday heat —
a drunken wasp
drowning in my glass

taller than the corn,
ripples blur the grey

every now and then
the voice of Jesus
from the SatNav

one errant keystroke
beyond a state of grace

----------

banished to the island
a poet
and his misty moon

a twist of wood smoke
sweet as any fish

amidst the roar
of plows and graders
groves of aspen quiver

any moment now
the feedback loop

-----------

the clock's slow drag,
she ticks off a box
in the personal ads

ice at the windows,
baggage at the door

the weight
too much to carry,
a footprint in the snow

so much for the students
and their placards

----------

don't forget your duty
to inform
on friends and neighbours

pouring gasoline
to burn a bit of trash

bright young couples
cradle lapdogs
underneath the blossom

brave butterflies,
we're off to gather scrap



John Carley and William Sorlien
by email
14th August 2013 to 4th September 2013

Carley: #1, #3, #6, #8, #10, #12, #13, #15
Sorlien: #2, #4, #5, #7, #9, #11, #14, #16


Quartet: The Island first appeared in Moongarlic, issue 1

Bristlecone ~ a "new" Triparshva

Bristlecone




bristlecone pines,
they straddle two dimensions
- mountain wind



opening the stone,
a sapling sprung forth



a red wheelbarrow
leans against the fence,
its tyre deflating



how many tassels has
a cardinal's galero?



la bella luna
shares a doorway
with the mourning dove



planting daisies
how pale my hands!



disturbed
beneath the wrack and mire,
turtles all the way down



only Poseidon’s trident
was found washed ashore



so auspicious!
her three-faced Buddha
recovered from the storm



in the eyes of a stranger
an old lover's gaze



at first I laugh
and then I cry
watching the city lights



from the executive suite -
tents in Zucotti



pigeons and pinstripes
scatting across
the canvas squares



does it shine, also
on the Sea of Tranquility?



a psychic sign
in the palm reader's window
only half-lit



the station agent
fresh out of tickets to sell



high up above
an Escher-like
grid of powerlines



a radio voice
talks about the blue jay sky



crackle, crackle . . .
the hen's fresh eggs sizzle
away the day



the scent of cilantro
from my old umbrella



inside the volume
of Van Gogh's letters,
one pressed flower



we promise to meet again
for the next meteor display





p.a., willie, sandra, tzetzka, pat, sandra, willie, tzetzka, p.a., pat, tzetzka, pat, barbara, sandra, pat, willie, ashley, pat, barbara, tzetzka, sandra, tzetzka






First published in A Hundred Gourds 2:3

Shisan ~ A Moon Faced Girl

.



















every tree
in every street
the song sparrow's voice


a moon-faced girl
skirts the melting snow


erasing the Welcome
on your door mat,
we wipe our feet




two pints later
and already it's Monday


ants streaming
from the keyboard ...
a live feed


the bullet train
parts an ocean




sneaking Mary Lou
into the suitcase,
her colour almost gone


I keep a fire burning
at the gate


tamping his pipe
otherwise, lost
in the clouds




we settle down to talk
on the kitchen floor


a bell
echoing from the river
a bell


dried lilies
fill a glass of water






Sandra, Willie, Sandra, Eric, Eric, Willie, Sandra, Willie, Eric, Sandra, Sandra, Willie





click on photo to enlarge



First appeared in A Hundred Gourds, March 2012
.

Deep In The Grove

.




















deep in the grove
where we once danced;
tule fog

a gecko's chirp loud
in an empty house

her Alzheimer's,
names forgotten
as well as our faults


days spent
decoding pebbles

off the trail,
the breeze and wild orchids
play guessing games

tantra pilgrimage,
rumps to the sky


back street boys
linger on the corner;
ba-donk-a-donk!

the fleshy sweetness
of a ripened peach

in the bomb shelter
an old can of
pork and beans


a shiny red bike
clears a path of pigeons

the mute boy,
face turned up in wonder,
now a bright moon

seen but not heard,
a maple leaf's piroeutte



John Merryfield 2, 6, 10, 12
Robin Beshers 1, 5, 8
William Sorlien 3, 7, 11
Eric V. 4, 9


.

Triparshva Renku ~ The Tiniest Pebble

.


















The Tiniest Pebble





an overcast morning
the tiniest pebble
has a voice / john



your words mingle
with the sound of rain / sandra



above the cottage door,
my fingers probing
for a key / linda



the scent of memory
lies in weathered wood / willie



the frozen moon,
a dullish gleam
in grandfather's eye / takke



but for a yearling's breath
stillness holds the dawn / willie


**************************



showing how he ran
for the doorway, the boy
in Batman pyjamas / sandra



above, a redbreast
clings to a pine / linda



engulfed entirely
by the yellow dust
of the pacifists / john



teasingly, a glimpse
of my dragon tattoo /sandra



quick out the back
to the morning train's
clatter and smoke / willie



passing a bottle,
they spoke of their dreams / john



afterwards,
she offers the war hero
another glass of milk / sandra



ink caps sprout in clusters
down the coppice path / linda



up the ladder,
picking the nashi,
picking the moon / sandra



a paper mum
falls from the pages / willie


*************************




astir in its depths,
the lake
at its natural rim / john



each star tonight
a tone from the watch night bell / willie



a candle gutters
as the old monk
dips his quill / linda



young painted ponies
leap from stone walls / john



through the rain,
the cherry blossoms move
just a little / sandra



green tea and bird song
to mark another day / john


Completed October 1st, 2010



John Merryfield
Linda Papanicolao
Sandra Simpson
William Sorlien
Shinjuku Rollingstone (guest)



First Place Winner, Journal of Renga and Renku 2010 renku contest


.

The Oyster Midden - a triparshva renku

.

perched upon
the oyster midden
hopeful seagulls / ec

myriad ripples
on a frozen current / b

rubbernecking
tourists take snapshots
by the gulf stream / gj

a single organism
pervades the forest floor / b

in heated moonlight,
hairpin turns mark the way
to babylon / gj

instinct
the blood in our veins / ec

dried-up rinds
of grapefruit litter
my Monday mornings / gj

paper airplanes
still floating on a dream / ec

darkness so quiet,
only the drip
of melting ice / b

a spindly wallflower
sets my heart abuzz / b

two contortionists
give shape
to the meaning of love / tm

pushing the stroller
footsteps fall in synch / ec

the flight of darts
is all i hear
in couples counseling / gj

lightning clouds change
from the inside out / gj

up all night
the morning glories
duped by a full moon/ ec

a monarch's journey
burdened by early snow / tm

the vortex
gathering all that is
extraordinary / tm

after the rains,
a map drawn in mud / gj

in the end
nothing more than
a roadside altar / ec

bear totem watches
lupine fill the valley/ ec

a single pole
of cherry adorns
the busker's hovel / b

poor old girl
we had to put her down/ ec


completed March 22, 2010


bandit
el coyote
govindajohn
turdus migratorius



Our Triparshva renku, The Oyster Midden, has been accepted for June 2010 publication at Notes From The Gean




.

Degachi

.




A submissions call for hokku for a triparshava renku of 22 verses beginning with Winter. Members, please submit up to three verses. Discussion will follow.

Reader's comments are encouraged and welcome!


Side 1 - jo - preface

hokku -wi
wakiku -wi
daisan -ns
4 short -ns
5 long -sp/su/mn
6 short -sp/ns

Side 2 - ha - development and intensification

7 long -ns
8 short -ns
9 long -ns/sp
10 short -su/sp/lv
11 long -ns/lv
12 short -ns/lv
13 long -ns/lv
14 short -au
15 long -au mn
16 short -au

Side 3 - kyu - finale

17 long -ns
18 short -su
19 long -ns
20 short -sp
21 long -sp/bl
ageku -sp

(from John Carley's Renku Reckoner)

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????



deep river's ice
the catfish dream
of soaring flight / b

myriad ripples
on the frozen stream
a sudden thaw / b




perched upon
the oyster midden-
two hungry seagulls / ec

picking the sinew
from our teeth-
late winter stew/ ec

northern wind-
a fallen bird's nest
upsets/ unsettles the soul/ ec



charcoal rendering
of the world today
haiti slave ship / gj

hawk on a post
last night's
gargoyle dream / gj

center of the tempest
cold sparrows
in song / gj




whale watching
once again, only the sky
and the sea / rb




.

Click over to Haiku Bandit Society for bandit's solo verses.

Any team members interested in starting another renku, written and agonized over live at this site, please respond in comments.




.

Twilight Stroll

twilight stroll
a pocket full
of rosehips / ec

the leaf strewn path,
my footprints in yours / tm

shadow
of the obelisk
changing its shape / b

a handwritten note
weighted with a stone / ec

cassiopeia
traced in the dust
of a cold moon / b

below the boat,
infinity tinted blue / tm

falling for you-
two ball,
corner pocket / ec

her thighs grip his Harley
as young quail scatter /tm

the autistic boy,
in thrall
of shining wind / b

a bottle catches the breeze-
my sentiments exactly / ec

paper, scissors, rock...
an origami crane
flutters to the ground / tm

of rainbows, crayons,
and summer school daisies / b



tm: turdus migratorius... (Robin)
ec: El Coyote... (Eric V.)
b: bandit... (William Sorlien)

completed October 27, 2009

Degachi

Hokku submissions for a renku of yet undetermined length-
all comments are welcome!

mist suspended
in brilliantine
sunlight -? b

drowsy bees
listlessly mount
blossoms of weeds -? b

a drowsy bee's
languid humming
weeds past full bloom -? b

.......................

shooting stars
unfathomable distance
between us -? TM

soaking up sunlight;
golden apples
await the fall-? TM

ripened light
golden apples
await the fall -? TM

butterflies...
his eyelashes brush
my cheek -? TM


....................


twilight stroll
a pocket full
of rose hips -? EC

seven new bills
but at least
the Giants won -EC?

rising embers
the hunting party
has returned- EC?

ready to bolt
the mounted elk head
stares at the door- EC?

Long City Sidewalks

long city sidewalks
the sweltering moon
aligns with Mars / b

past the lemonade,
my creaking hammock swing / gj

into the wind
the crew manuevering
to maintain balance / b

slow ominous circles
a broken wing / gj

hiking with Dad
my three steps
to his one / ah

captured tadpoles
in a budweiser bottle / gj

a brief glimpse,
a reflection,
vanished in the crowd / b

seeing my breath
feeling yours / gj

gaseous bubbles
rise from
the ancient pond / b

acupressure points
easing digestion / gj

on Joe Pye's weed
caressing
the sleepy bees / b

a honey colored
autumn dusk / gj

Completed July 7, 2009
Revised July 12, 2009

altadenahiker-Karin Bugge
bandit-William Sorlien
govindajohn-John Merryfield



First published in Simply Haiku, Winter 2009

birds-
children's lip prints
on the window

it's summer
and are you sentimental?
corn again

sparse shade
butterfly wings afford
the only breeze

The author's are assembling now.
As is our "tradition", the author's post an introductory
haiku prior to our renku...

Wild Onions

still night
a wandering spirit
stirs the wind chimes /ec

all alone now
a year I'd like to forget /b

clear and cold
every now and then
startled by a spark /bt

sock it to-um
a family motto /gj

elk tracks found
under the hunter's moon
good omen /tm

shooting star...
my thoughts return to you/ ec

conversing
in our autumn voice
snails and birds /b

apology flowers
their passion yet to wither /bt

low tide
she shows me
her stretch marks /gj

abstract art
not my thing /tm

ignoring the signs
a growing distance
from myself/ ec

close friend's return
back in touch with my heart /b

sunday blues
she sneaks up on me
the summer moon /bt

invoking the tamborine
a fragrant breeze /gj

sultry whispers -
warmed by the whiskey's
amber light /tm

sparks from the fire
eyeing the leftovers /iy

the hillside ablaze
california poppies
rolling unto the sea /ec

spring dreams
days etched in black and white /b

muddled footprints
they fade out quickly
in remaining snow /bt

dusty pick-up
turns into the dirt road /gj

crackling storm
the ozark highlands
rumble /tm

bucking in the far field
spooked horses / ec

wild onions
the cabin become
too close for comfort / b

wood stove
the heat of family scrabble /bt

high noon
a herd of lab mice
set free /gj

joined in flight
mosquito hawks make love /tm

songs of devotion
the rhythm
of her breath /ec

wind and clouds paint
infinite shades of gray /b

harvest moon
her lullabye
becomes a whisper /bt

dust of the boulder
instant mashed potato /gj

the sumo wrestler
calls his cat -
late night meal /tm

the spicy tuna maki
tastes a little fishy/ ec

the foreman's cold stare
a dog takes a last bite
of alarm clock / b

the flute raised slowly to her lips
decrescendo /bt

six perceptions
reduced by infinity
-white cherry blossoms /gj

afloat in tranquil waters-
songs of silence /tm

Completed May 31, 2009

el coyote
bandit
bluetoque
govindajohn
t.migratorius
irie yogini

the long journey home
a small pine
on the path

the heat of it
into my fingers
green tea

salty plumes
rise to greet the sun -
whale song

petunia-
the town librarian
talking to the flowers

withered birch
hidden amidst green pine
mistaken for ghosts


The authors are assembling now.
As per our "tradition" we post
an introductory verse preceding
our renku.