Young LeavesFirst published in Frogpond 21:3, Winter 1999, pages 37–39. This was the second of five “chain renku” I started in 1990. It took nearly five years to complete this renku, and it came back to me in early 1995 with all the pleasure of my discovering a message in a bottle that had spent its life crossing an ocean—several times. An earlier chain renku, “Windswept Walk,” took just over a year to finish, and was published in Frogpond in 1992. Its publication might well have encouraged the completion of this renku. Like “Windswept Walk” before it, this renku was cast adrift by my sending the hokku to another poet (in this case, Elizabeth St Jacques), who sent it to the next poet, and so on, until 36 different poets had added their verses. To start, I had created a form with spaces for participants to record their verses, the date, their name, and their place of residence. The date of Mike Hind’s verse seems to be out of order, but was most likely recorded incorrectly, and the date of Dick Pettit’s verse also seems unlikely, given that it’s the same date as the previous verse and in the interim the renku would have had to travel more than 3,600 miles (by mail) between them. Seaton Findlay wrote a two-liner when a three-liner was called for, Marianne Bluger’s verse is a commentary on the renku itself (using the older term “renga”), and George Swede wrote a three-liner when a two-liner was due. But mostly the directions were followed, and the renku as a whole gains a lively energy from the various cultures it encountered. Such is the nature of casting this sort of renku off to the wind, letting it evolve as it would. The results provide an interesting array of voices, and the choices of who sent this renku to whom—and the dates (and occasional delays) involved—are every bit as interesting as the verses themselves. All in all, this renku is uneven in its quality, and less successful than “Windswept Walk,” but it contains some truly lovely individual verses, such as Yasuko Yasui’s “forgotten crayfish” and William Hart’s response verse, “the closing fist.” Please also read my “Notes About Young Leaves” at the end.
moonlight breeze Michael Dylan Welch young leaves Foster City, California barely waving 15 June 1990
the gentle curve of my dream Elizabeth St Jacques to faint lilac scent Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario 21 June 1990
to the winding stream Ruby Spriggs children running fast Ottawa, Ontario and babbling 29 June 1990
barefoot Dorothy Howard he goes on about tetanus Aylmer, Québec 27 July 1990
The sting of his words Pauline Gauthier sharper Aylmer, Québec under the full moon 16 October 1990
walking home alone Nano McConnell two shadows Aylmer, Québec 5 November 1990
Ah the moon . . . Seaton Findlay (peed on my foot) Ottawa, Ontario 4 September 1991
this renga game—sadly Marianne Bluger passing it on Ottawa, Ontario 16 September 1991
that vigorous scrawl Rod Willmot illegible now—is it Sherbrooke, Québec “season word”? 25 February 1992
chalkdust LeRoy Gorman then snow clouds Napanee, Ontario 30 September 1992
geese leaving Marco Fraticelli gulls circling Pointe Claire, Québec the schoolyard 8 October 1992
Christmas morning George Swede each branch of the maple Toronto, Ontario in a stocking of snow 6 February 1993
In the mucky puddle Peter Mortimer the trapped moon North Shields, Tyne & Wear, England remains free 15 February 1993
gusting towards tombstones David Cobb willow pollen Braintree, Essex, England 20 February 1993
As a support for James Kirkup the scarecrow without a face Encamp, Andorra an old boneshaker 25 February 1993
Shepherd shaking his stick Makoto Tamaki at a horsefly Encamp, Andorra 28 February 1993
a hard frost Brian Tasker among new shoots— Frome, Somerset, England the wind-tossed daffodils 4 March 1993
this too is spring— Jim Norton rattle dead beech leaves Lamberhurst, Kent, England 22 March 1993
In the tree-top nest Tito (Stephen Gill) the heron’s bill at eighty degrees— London, England April Fool’s Day rain 1 April 1993
beneath dimpled water Susan Rowley —still fish Ilford, Essex, England 14 April 1993
memory Annie Bachini of eels wriggling London, England even when dead 18 April 1993
A wooden bucket emptied out— Dick Pettit darkness at the bottom. Ibri, Sultanate of Oman 18 April 1993 [date is probably incorrect]
Pale against blue sky Mike Hind where night left a calling card Muscat, Sultanate of Oman rim of daylight moon 13 April 1993 [date is incorrect]
watching the rain, knowing Colin Shadduck it’s still raining Barnstaple, Devon, England 16 November 1993
A drop from a leaf Eriko Okamato interrupted by children Osaka, Japan falls in a puddle 26 November 1993
Being disappointed Yasuhiko Shigemoto at the enjoyable swings Osaka, Japan 2 December 1993
some elderly men Robert Millard huddled under a bare tree Osaka, Japan hear laughing children 3 December 1993
into the spring day Peter Duppenthaler the last camellia blossom—falls Nara, Japan 12 April 1994
forgotten crayfish Yasuko Yasui in a moonlit tin can Takarazuka-shi, Japan scratches—scratches 5 May 1994
the closing fist William Hart holds, at last, one minnow Montrose, California 27 May 1994
seeing so many buds on Ikkoku Santo the “Beauty under the moon” Osaka, Japan my wife feels happy and encouraged 3 June 1994
she points out the light John O’Connor of the Japanese stamps Christchurch, New Zealand 11 June 1994
mountain summit— Cyril Childs a white-clad priest Lower Hutt, New Zealand releases his prayers 15 June 1994
in the hills Jeanette Stace the last of the mauve evening Wellington, New Zealand 21 June 1994
winter frosts here Barry Morrall thinking of northern summer Wellington, New Zealand an English garden 23 June 1994
Far from home— Alan Wells the pine, the wind Wellington, New Zealand 19 January 1995
Notes About Young LeavesThe preceding kasen renku has a long and rather amazing history. The idea behind it was to have 36 different writers each contribute a single verse. I started five of these “chain renku,” as I called them, back in March and June of 1990. One of them, “Windswept Walk,” took just over a year to reach completion, and appeared in Frogpond 15:1 (Spring–Summer, 1992). That renku consisted of poems by thirty-four American and two Canadian writers, and won a Museum of Haiku Literature Award. In contrast, “Young Leaves” was written almost entirely outside the United States. Just two verses came from California (including my starting verse), and the rest came from six other countries: eleven from Canada (six from Ontario and five from Québec), eight from England, two from Andorra, two from the Sultanate of Oman, six from Japan, and five from New Zealand. My estimate is that this renku travelled a total of 49,114 miles (78,950 kilometers) from mailbox to mailbox around the world—that’s more than two times around the world! I wouldn’t mind having all those frequent-flyer miles! And yet the renku’s original pieces of paper, much folded, stained, and road-weary, managed to make it back to me on 8 December 1996, a full five and a half years after I cast this particular piece of bread on the water. For the record, alterations were made by the poets to four of the verses in the spring of 1998. As I wrote in 1992 about the first chain renku to be completed, “The reading of a renku is usually enhanced by searching for the link or connection used by participating poets as they add their verses. This renku has the further enhancement of its unwritten links between people.” The same is particularly true of “Young Leaves,” because the distances between poets have been greater, and the time span for completion greater too. The verses in “Young Leaves” don’t always follow strict renku conventions, and sometimes depart from the three-line/two-line alternation. Yet this renku’s cornucopia of participants has produced many striking verses that I trust you will enjoy. Three more of these chain renku remain unfinished. Perhaps they have been lost, or have fallen into neglect. If anyone reading this has participated in the other chain renku I started in 1990 (“Scent of Jasmine,” “Gathering Moths,” and “Her Wrinkled Hands”), please do keep them going—or send me news of their whereabouts. You can write to me at [address removed], Foster City, California, 94404, USA, or email me at WelchM@aol.com. I would enjoy hearing about these other renku, and would love to have them find their way home. Meanwhile, “Young Leaves” has indeed wandered “far from home,” as Alan Wells suggests in his concluding verse. But now it has come home, and I hope you find the connections between the poets as enjoyable as the verses themselves and the links between them all.
PostscriptI have redone the estimate for this renku’s total distance travelled. I used http://www.convertunits.com/distance/ for great circle routes and http://www.mapquest.co.uk/ for road miles in England, and came up with a lower total of 46,484 miles (74,805 kilometers). I’m sure none of the planes stuck strictly to great circle routes, so a ballpark estimate of 50,000 miles is probably pretty close. I wish I could have taken the trip personally!
—31 October 2009
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