Lilt of the Skylark
First published in Blithe Spirit 30:4, November 2020, pages 63 to 66. Kasen renku originally composed at Haiku North America, Hawthorne Inn & Conference Center, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 8, 9 August 2019. Patricia Machmiller served as the sabaki, or leader, and Michael Dylan Welch as the scribe.
by Patricia Machmiller, Agnes Eva Savich, Lenard D. Moore, Charles Trumbull, Michael Dylan Welch, Fay Aoyagi, Garry Gay, David G. Lanoue, Bill Deegan, Johnnie Johnson Hafernik, Doris Lynch, David Oates, Joshua Gage, Paula Hamby, and Jeff Hoagland
1. jump, flea!
my neighbor will be glad
to host you Patricia
2. dad in shorts
grills chicken wings Agnes
3. memories
of the scent of ironing
from upstairs Lenard
4. view of the pine forest
and the mountains beyond Charlie
5. I wish I could see
the footprints
on the moon Michael
6. the scarecrow skips
down the yellow brick road Fay
7. a chilly wind
through the missing pane
of the greenhouse Garry
8. the school principal
♥s the tennis coach David L.
9. the pulled tooth
feels better than
his lover’s text Bill
10. my to-do list
on a paper bag Michael
11. his fabulous gown
made from the curtains
of his last big role Agnes
12. I left my oxygen tank
on Mt. Everest David L.
13. a contrail
bisects
the winter moon Charlie
14. ice glazes the bottom
of the wheelbarrow Garry
15. Icarus
still falling
to the sea David L.
16. another journalist
killed in Russia Charlie
17. Easter lilies
cut in their prime
for a wreath Agnes
18. shell collection
left at the seashore Garry
19. spring haze
in and out
of my mind Michael
20. the smudge
on the pope’s eyeglasses Bill
21. into the night
lepidopterists converse
in subspecies Johnnie
22. while we drink wine
the planets align Doris
23. in the Deep South
the only parking issue is
where’s the shade David O.
24. putting the top down
at the drive-in Joshua
25. how long
do I wait
for Pandora Paula
26. shimmying close
under the disco ball Lenard
27. she says yes
to his proposal
on the Jumbotron Garry
28. the elephant
bathes himself in the pond Charlie
29. in the moonlight
a mailbox
with the red flag up Doris
30. sulphur shelf mushroom
on the cutting board Jeff
31. lightning again
silhouetting
the castle keep Michael
32. she tries
the king’s knight’s gambit Charlie
33. kitchen tiles
freshly mopped
and minty Agnes
34. strands of hair
trace her neck Joshua
35. the gospel choir
inhales
amid the blossoms Michael
36. lilt of the skylark
without an accent Jeff