Autumn Encampment: Half-Kasen Renku

First published in Geppo (need to confirm the issue), 2000. The following is a half-kasen renku written at the Yuki Teikei Haiku Retreat at Asilomar, Pacific Grove, California, on September 11, 1999. Kiyoko Tokutomi served as renku master.

the salty sea air

greets a party of horsemen—

autumn encampment Jean Hale

moon drifting through pines

whiter as it climbs higher Anne Homan

mushroom gatherers

bent in a circle—

I strum my guitar Michael Dylan Welch

rechecking his scribbled notes

paper clip flashes earthward Roger Abe

an old rattan chair

and a glass of iced tea—

she puts her feet up June Hymas/Linda Hess

the television rambling

about a sunburn remedy Jerry Ball

an ambulance

races by with lights flashing—

my heart falters Bill Peckham

unorthodox CPR

Resusci-Annie on top! Roger

trail of clothes . . .

the safari lovers

in a hundred curves James Ferris

archeological find

the Pre-Columbian with strange tools Roger

high-rise apartments

with poorly reinforced concrete—

who’s to blame? Anne

in a Van Gogh painting

table with uneven legs Fumio Ogoshi

my tired mind goes blank

staring through the open door

at the winter moon Martha Dahlen

the wild ducks

fill the empty field Linda Hess

blessed by St. Francis

the Pirate and his dogs

together snoring Roger

bull market

each daughter asks for pearls James

she grabs my camera

to take my picture near

the cherry blossoms June Hymas

unencumbered by barbed wire

the soaring Painted Ladies Patricia J. Machmiller