A Mark on the Wall

path of the sun
the hollyhock leans into
early summer rain
­                                                                     gathering between petals
­                                                                     a pool of drowning pollen
summer rain
where the poem card peeled off
a mark on the wall
­                                                                     distant memory of words
­                                                                     imprinted in a damp smudge
don’t be like me
even though we’re like the melon
split in two
­                                                                     we fit together sweetly
­                                                                     self-contained with juiciness
wait awhile
cut the soy beans to the sound
of monks beating bowls
­                                                                     hunger enhances flavour
­                                                                     when there’s no money for spice
building a bridge
between snow-covered mountains
white egrets
­                                                                     feathers and snowflakes mingle
­                                                                     a silent blanket of white
plovers fly away
the evening grows later with
cold mountain winds
­                                                                     the moon’s a blustery kite
­                                                                     with a tail of ice and stars

Matsuo Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold) ­          Kim M. Russell, 25/09/2018

My response to Carpe Diem Renga With Basho #9 A Mark On The Wall

In a new episode of Carpe Diem’s special feature ‘Renga With Basho’, we are creating renga with a given selection of haiku by Matsuo Basho. The line-up  is own choice, to which we add two-line stanzas with approximately 14 syllables to create a closed chain, ending with an ‘ageku’. The haiku have been taken from Jane Reichhold’s Basho, The Complete Haiku.