Nitobe Meditation

A collection of tan-renga written by Michael Dylan Welch in collaboration with fourteen other poets attending the Haiku Canada Weekend at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, 19–21 May 2006. Most of these tan-renga were written at Nitobe Memorial Garden at UBC on my birthday, May 20, with one tan-renga finished after the weekend. First published in Haiku Canada Review 1:1, February 2007, pages 28–32. You can also view or download the “Nitobe Meditation” PDF on the Trifold Downloads page. See also the two videos at the end of this page.

quiet Japanese garden—

a branch cut on the side Michael Dylan Welch

facing away from the path Sammamish, Washington

a painter and a pond Karma Tenzing Wangchuk

share the loneliness Port Townsend, Washington

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floating leaf

a raindrop Jessica Tremblay

pushes it in Vancouver, British Columbia

at the video shop

Titanic out of stock Michael Dylan Welch

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chilly morning—

the moss springs back

after my step Michael Dylan Welch

pink petals float in the pond Marshall Hryciuk

above the carp Toronto, Ontario

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black branches

and a silver lamp post— Ava Kar

ducks on the frozen pond Oliver, British Columbia

the old wardrobe

now stained red Michael Dylan Welch

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a crowd

on the garden path Chandra Bales

I walk around the crows Albuquerque, New Mexico

in need of a wash

the black BMW Michael Dylan Welch

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pond’s edge—

the last plum blossom Carole MacRury

drifts to a stop Point Roberts, Washington

a mourning dove

flushes upward Michael Dylan Welch

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garden stroll—

we raise our voices

near the bubbling stream Michael Dylan Welch

my friend, the raven, settles Howard Lee Kilby

on a high cedar in the wind Hot Springs, Arkansas

~ ~ ~

searching

in the garden Lyle Rumpel

a twisted trunk Victoria, British Columbia

finding myself

at the end of the path Michael Dylan Welch

~ ~ ~

a stone lantern

covered with moss

next to one without Michael Dylan Welch

visiting friends who still Amelia Fielden

live in our old suburb Buff Point, New South Wales, Australia

~ ~ ~

under halogen lights

translucence Claudia Coutu Radmore

of a million petals Carleton Place, Ontario

in Spanish

she asks me the way Michael Dylan Welch

~ ~ ~

“way of teenage rebellion”—

cedar stump Vicki McCullough

rotted at its core Vancouver, British Columbia

paint faded

on the entire totem pole Michael Dylan Welch

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garden walk

each rock Carmen Sterba

in its right place University Place, Washington

a shiny penny

in the snow-viewing lantern Michael Dylan Welch

~ ~ ~

a lull in our conversation—

maple tree roots

crisscross the moss Michael Dylan Welch

chopsticks down Terry Ann Carter

the meal is over Nepean, Ontario

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Nitobe meditation—

traffic and waterfall sounds elehna de sousa

become one Salt Spring Island, British Columbia

my reflection in the pond

wobbled by a koi Michael Dylan Welch