tendrils of ivy
I think I’ll paint
my mailbox blue
she moves the snake away
from the garden hose
an uninvited guest
is knocking
at the door
one last question
before the storm begins
.
verse credits: willie, melissa, willie, melissa
Willie Sorlien suggested that he and I write some renku together and I said okay, even though I was a little scared because Willie has done way, way, WAY more renku than I have and has even won prizes and stuff (the triparshva linked to here, of which he was sabaki, won the 2010 Journal of Renga and Renku Renku Contest). But he was very kind and picked out a nice short form called the yotsumono that was invented by the great John Carley as a renku exercise. Believe me, I need plenty of exercise.
We wrote four of these. (The others will be showing up soon.) I did notice my linking-and-shifting muscles limbering up after a while. I think.
Here’s a couple more yotsumono written by John Carley, Lorin Ford, and John Merryfield, where you can watch their progress in the comments and read a way more intelligent discussion of the form than I could provide at this point.
Red Dragonfly 
‘Way more’ is a matter of perspective . . .
Actually, I think you’re referring to John EC and John M and Lorin Ford. I just stood back and watched in awe.
That’s what I get for being, apparently, illiterate. And attention-challenged. Editing now, so I can pretend I was never wrong.
Glad I’m not alone in those attributes . . .
Good God. I just realized that I also had the wrong link to your blog in here. Sometimes I wonder how I managed to survive to my advanced age. Sorry about that…fixed now.
Melissa, I know nothing about renku but the interaction between the two of you is great. I like the flow to snakes and uninvited guests. Very nice change of pace.
Sully
Thanks, Sully. It was a lot of fun working with Willie.