Welcome to the Renku Column of Simply Haiku. In this spring edition, we bring you a broad variety of renku, from a 36-verse Kasen from Romania to a couple of three-verse Mitsumono from Minnesota, and in between a Shisan, a Junicho and a Croatian Nijuin.

New in this issue, we publish correspondence from our readers, in the shape of an English poet's "Struggles with Renku". This is a feature which we believe can be both interesting and useful, so we'd welcome further correspondence from you our readers, whether in reaction to the renku we publish, or your thoughts on renku in general.

Here are some of the hokku from our renku selection this quarter, to whet your appetite.

From winter:

withering wind…
a cafe’s billboard
takes off as we eat

*

swirling snow
on distant rooftops
powdered sugar

 

 

through spring...

A fresh breath
among the grafted fruit trees:
morning breeze

 

 

to summer:

barbecue guests
on the welcome mat
a row of flip-flops

*

the clear calm sea -
you can see every detail
of the bottom

 

Come on in, take a dip and enjoy!

 

Norman Darlington, Bunclody, February 2008