Tan Renga

the devil incarnate (haibun)

/ Tournesol / 2 Comments

Remember when we had to get used to saying “The Artist- formerly known as Prince”? I was trying to find a way to name that Russian president [what’s his name] similarly. I wrote several forms. I was still not satisfied. Then I looked up some names he is known for today…”Dickhead” is one that caught my attention. But the only one that seemed to fit how I felt about him today is “Devil Incarnate – formerly known as Putin”. 

dogs howl in mourning
baffled by the devil's work
longing their masters

echoes of rustling leaves
trees shudder with grief

midst the smog of war
clouds form from malice and greed
STILL - Ukraine's heart beats

(c) tournesol '2022-04-03

autumn bliss (tan renga)

/ Tournesol / 2 Comments

Today our host and mentor  at CarpeDiemHaikuKai invites us to take part in a renga party.

Chevrefeuille says: “ I love to use, was written in Autumn 1689. The title for this renga is: “best for seeing the moon”. As the title of this renga tells us the haiku is a real autumn verse. As you (maybe) know the moon is a seasonword for autumn. In Japan they find the moon of autumn the most beautiful and there are lot of haiku written with the autumn moon. The moon was (and is still) a seasonword for autumn. In my country, The Netherlands, poets find the moon of winter the most beautiful. Maybe that’s true, but as a haiku poet I find the moon of autumn the most beautiful and spectacular. Why? I can’t say why it’s a feeling. Maybe it’s because of my interest in the classical haiku, maybe it’s because the Japanese haiku poets have written such beautiful haiku about the autumn moon.

Here is the haiku, the hokku of this renga party, by Basho:”

let’s visit the places
best for seeing the moon
sleeping on a journey
©Matsuo Basho

dreaming of yesteryear
that last September kiss

soft lips
pressing urgently
leaf on her shoulder

©Tournesol’18/03/04

Related image

© https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-illustration-man-woman-front-full-moon-silhouette-lying-grass-image59924013

 

raindrops (squared tan renga)

/ Tournesol / 5 Comments

Photo: Cheryl-Lynn Dec 2013, Montreal

three raindrops
a greeting card from heaven…
midsummer heat   © Issa

words laced together
angels delicate hands

clouds
move in tandem
clearing the sky

a million stars trail
glow of the milky way

©Tournesol’17/09/11

And here is the other haiku to create a Squared Tan Renga with:

© Clr’17

flying away
following the rainbow
into heaven   ©Chevreveuille

droplets on chrysanthemum
reflecting pastel colours

butterfly
tastes each moist
blossom

sparrows sing a chorus
lauding the universe

©Tournesol’17/09/11

Written for Carpe Diem Haiku Kai: Raindrops

an autumn leaf (tan renga)

/ Tournesol / 7 Comments

now it reveals its hidden side
and now the other—thus it falls,
an autumn leaf © Ryokan Taigu

spilling a faint light
easing safer passage

©Tournesol’17/05/16

The “hokku” we had to use today at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai, is Ryokan’s Jisei (death-poem):

ura wo mise omote wo misete chirua momiji

now it reveals its hidden side
and now the other—thus it falls,
an autumn leaf

© Ryokan Taigu