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