Wings

with every gust of wind,
the butterfly changes its place
on the willow­
­                                                        rusty orange wings dancing
­                                                        among the weeping branches
midfield,
attached to nothing,
the skylark singing­                        suspended in fluid song
­                                                         radiating through its wings
the dragonfly
can’t quite land
on that blade of grass
­                                                         its glassy wings move too fast
­                                                         a fragile whirlwind of glints

Matsuo Basho                                  Kim M. Russell, 15th August 2018

Image result for paintings and artwork butterfly skylark and dragonfly
Image found on Pinterest

My response to Carpe Diem Renga with Basho #6 bush clover and the moon

The goal of ‘Renga With Basho’ is to create a renga by writing two-line stanzas between his haiku, using three or more of the six given haiku in an order of our choice, with the first haiku (hokku) and the last stanza (ageku) connected through association, thus closing the chain. The six haiku are:

cedar umbrellas, off
to Mount Yoshimo for
the cherry blossoms

midfield,
attached to nothing,
the skylark singing

staying at an inn
where prostitutes are also sleeping —
bush clover and the moon

when the winter chrysanthemums go,
there’s nothing to write about
but radishes

with every gust of wind,
the butterfly changes its place
on the willow

the dragonfly
can’t quite land
on that blade of grass

(C) Matsuo Basho (Tr. Robert Hass)

10 thoughts on “Wings”

  2. Beautifully done! I love the combination of Haiku’s you used Kim! Kim, I was not around for the first edition of Troiku Kukai. I noticed it’s open for 30 days. Are we suppose to write a Troiku each day for 30 days, and if so, is he going to provide a new Haiku each day? Thank you Kim! ❤

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    1. Hi Deborah! The Kukai is a competition in which we write haiku, tanka or troiku, and have (in this case) until 15th September to email them to Kristjaan. He will then display them all anonymously on his webpage and ask us to vote for our three favourites, giving points for first, second and third choices. The winner usually gets their own e-book posted on Carpe Diem. Have a look at the Carpe Diem’s Kukai tab at the top of the home page, which shows the whole of the first Kukai. I hope that’s helpful, Deborah. 🙂

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  5. these renga are wonderful Kim. I really have enjoyed them completely. And for the first time, I think I finally “understand” how this challenge works … to create and complete the chain. (due to your choices by Basho and then the renga) … and they compliment each other so well, this is like reading this small, small story – that is delicious for the poetic tongue and spirit. (hmm… “flash” Japanese poetic forms? LOL 😉 )

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    1. Thank you, Pat. Challenges like this are useful poetic exercises, fun focuses for the imagination, and springboards into bigger and more complex poetry. I often go back to my collection of ‘flash’ poems for inspiration. 😊

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