Carpe Diem Weekend Meditation #64 Renga with Basho asks us to create a renga
(or chain of verses) by following each provided haiku by Bashō, in any order, 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.

sweeping the garden
the snow forgotten
by the broom

patience rewarded with life
joy as first blossoms appear

under a crescent moon
the ground is hazy
with buckwheat flowers*

fresh dark honey from nectar
sweetness for the coming heat

cattle shed
dark sound of mosquitoes
in summer heat

suffering in the still air
welcome breeze offers relief

withering wind
is the fragrance still attached
to the late-blooming flower

happiness for such beauty
sadness for such a short life

feeling holy
the tears that stain
fallen leaves

shifting in the slightest breeze
change always a part of life

the paulownia leaf
moves on the autumn wind
frost in the ivy

cold winds coming soon enough
looking past snow to warm spring

* The provided line “with blackwheat flowers” is replaced with the proper line “with buckwheat flowers.”

Images
Library of Congress – Man with a broom, artist unknown
Wikimedia Commons – Buckwheat flower (edited here)
Library of Congress – Kiri branch, by Megata Morikaga
(Paulownia is known in Japanese as kiri.)