A Junicho Year

leaf-fall
beneath a growing pile
an acorn

among the red, gold and brown
a splash of purple crocus

walking in fog
through the softness of a glove
I feel your hand

footsteps echo together
with the beating of our hearts

in the graveyard
heads of faded flowers droop
frost-muted

crossing the bridges of time
quiet gathering of ghosts

a silver half-moon
pipistrelle bats flicker silently
between the stars

everything is waking up
dancing buds of early spring

spotted woodpecker
cheeky nod of red-capped head
hammering the bark

down the road, drill and hammer
counterpoint a harmony

early morning
a crumpled sheet over fields
blooming with haze

I wake to summer sunrise
stretching with a brand new day

Kim M. Russell, 11^th October 2018

My response to Carpe Diem #1519 Junicho, the twelve stanza renga (Soliloquy No Renga)

Today we have arrived at the letter J for Junicho, a kind of twelve-stanza renga that opens with the season in which the composition takes place, with spring and autumn carrying their traditional greater weight. The Junicho is divided more or less equally between season and non-season verses. The typical distribution therefore is: winter – one, summer – one, spring – two, autumn – two, and non-season – six.

The Junicho also allows for a single blossom verse and a single moon verse, both of which may appear in any season. Love can be represented by a pair of verses that may appear in any position.

Our challenge is to create a Junicho following this pattern. Those of us living in the northern hemisphere should start with an autumn stanza and those in the southern hemisphere will start with a spring one.

Tricky!