January Jest - a Collaboration
Become a
Premium Member
and post notes and photos about your poem like Timothy Hicks.
Renga was a popular poetry format in Old Japan, and was actually the precursor to haiku. A renga poem is composed by two or more poets, each taking tutrns adding two or three-line verses to the poem. Stretching however long you wish: from a dozen verses to several hundred. The idea is to create the element of change, by every two verses adjacent verses being connected in some fashion, while NOT being connected to the verse written before THAT. Renga also goes through all the seasons.
To better understand this concept, read this link that I followed through. It's actually considered a "poetry game" ... http://www.wikihow.com/Play-Haikai-(Collaborative-Poetry-Game)
Can you name the connections between two adjacent verses (there's also a connection between the first and last verses))
A collaborative poem, written in renga format, or "linked-verse", by Timothy Hicks and Jesse Whitehead.
Verses in normal font are by me.
Verses in italic are by Jesse Whitehead.
January jest
drawing mustaches
in the newspaper
coffee to warm the hands
walking the railroad
refusing
to stay put
a child's balloon
spring in her step
red moon overhead
has dusk come already?
the field of tulips
seem to say
unwavering and gentle
strong as stone
mountain peaks
wind through summer meadows
a tender caress
lying there still
a heart-shaped mark
steady rhythm
ebb of the tide
broken shells
spiraling earthward
the last golden leaf
fading in and out
memories sweetly touched
a dancing flame
burning through pages
another x on the calendar
NOTE: This was my first attempt at a Renga poem, written in collaboration, with one of my best friends from Idaho, Jesse Whitehead. He's one of the few friends of mine whom I could discuss writing with. Though he typically writes fiction and stories, rather than poetry, he was willing to give this poetry format a go; and to my knowledge this was his first time writing poetry. It's a fun little challenge that I hope you all will give a try!
Copyright © Timothy Hicks | Year Posted 2016
Post Comments
Poetrysoup is an environment of encouragement and growth so only provide specific positive comments that indicate what you appreciate about the poem. Negative comments will result your account being banned.
Please
Login
to post a comment