Carpe Diem Renga with Basho … still it sways asks us to create a renga
(or chain of verses) by following each provided haiku by Bashō with two lines.
(Bashō’s haiku here in blue italics – tr. Jane Reichhold)
A “closed chain” is attained when the hokku (starting verse)
and ageku (closing verse) connect in a way to make “the circle” complete.
mushrooms
not yet that many days
of autumn dew
droplets in a moist blanket
frost waiting to take its place
glistening dew
not spilling from bush clover
still it sways
damp leaves waving in light breeze
welcoming light of new day
morning glories
in the daytime a lock lowered
on the gate
opened now for daily walk
gardens empty of blossoms
chrysanthemum flowers
bloom at the stonemason’s
between stones
informal garden’s beauty
bright even in fading light
moon past full
the beginning of a little more
darkness
shorter days on forest path
coolness in the waning light
pine mushroom
with its ragged top it’s
like a pine tree
growing beneath a pine tree
gets little rain, but much dew
Images
Museum of Fine Arts Boston – Morning Glories at Iriya, by Utagawa Hiroshige
Museum of Fine Arts Boston – Bird and Chrysanthemums, by Utagawa Hiroshige
ukiyo-e.org – Wild Mushrooms, by Shibata Zeshin
This is a gorgeous poem, Ken.
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Thank you, Robbie.
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Wonderfully penned ! So beautiful !
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🙂 Merci!
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Excellent! (@–>–) (@–>–) (@–>–)
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Thank you, Dorna 🙂
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I do believe in informal gardens. Nature plants them everywhere – we just have to look… under the trees and in forests
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Minimum maintenance – maximum enjoyment.
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