Poetry

Renga Verse

Recently I found myself captivated by the poet Linda France’s Book of Days – in which she set herself the challenge of writing a renga verse every day for twelve months – so much so that I have set myself an identical challenge. I began it on July 25th.

Renga is a traditional form of collaborative verse dating from 10th century Japan where poets would gather and write verses together, whilst drinking tea or saki – subjects were the natural world, love, the moon and all phenomena vulnerable to change. The first verse of 3 lines – the hokku is the origin of the haiku and is followed by a two line verse.

In renga each verse must have some connection with the preceding one but also depart from it, avoiding repeating a word or an idea. So the renga is carried forward, mirroring the flow of our lives, always changing, never still.

France says it is the – ‘authenticity and integrity’ that she ‘most appreciates about renga – the way it refuses to fix things into easy categories, how it resists personal ownership and control. It has ideas of its own.’

After only eight days I find I am fascinated by the way in which renga has such ideas of its own, how out of a simple two or three line verse inspired by the particular: one’s own world or daily life, emerges a greater truth that at times may sound and behave like an ancient proverb, that may contain a simple but unexpected universality.

When I began I found that when I tried to sleep that night my head swam with words  – hence

Silver scales fall from my eyes

renga fish in the net of night

And the next day –

The closed mill race

forces the flood waters

inside

Renga should of course be collaborative so please add your own 2 or 3 line renga – I would love to publish it for my 100th post which is coming up next!

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