Good Friends:
Both the Shisan and the Junicho are 12-verse Renga forms. The Shisan is more strucutred; there are four sections, each section following the natural seasonal flow. So if a Shisan begins in spring, the second section should have a summer verse, the third a fall verse, and the fourth section a winter verse. The Junicho is more free form; there are no sections and the order of the seasons does not need to follow the natural flow (this is actually the norm for Renga; the Shisan is the only Renga form I know of where the seasonal flow follows the natural order). Here is a Solo Junicho I recently wrote.
Open Door
Sunday is restful
Among the new leaves birds are
Greeting the sunrise
Clouds gathering in the sky,
And a gentle, steady wind
As the snowflakes fall
The mailman drops some letters
While crossing the street
The cell phone's incessant ring
Interrupts concentration
"Let's do lunch today,"
She says to a new client,
"That new restaurant?"
The magnolia blossoms,
Luxurious and long days
He checks his email --
Why isn't there a response?
Why is she silent?
She likes him, she really does;
But she needs some time alone
Hiking in the woods
On a two-week vacation
The first in five years
Night is quickly gathering
The shadows into darkness
There's no moon tonight
Only the string of street lights
When leaves start to fall
He slowly opens the door,
An abandoned cat walks in
Best wishes,
Jim
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Reweaving the Web of the World
Reweaving the Web of the World
One of the reasons I find Renga attractive, and a reason that I have stuck with the practice of Renga for so many years, is that the practice of Renga teaches one a way of looking at the world that I find healing and expansive. I refer to this effect of practicing Renga as “reweaving the web of the world”.
Renga is about noticing how two situations/images/manifestations are similar; that’s the linking aspect. The connection between these two images is often subtle, but it is nevertheless there. After some time of Renga practice, I found that I would spontaneously notice how situations were connected, how they were similar. So Renga is a kind of gentle mind training/heart training.
Normally, as we go about our day, the mind separates things into distinct categories. This is natural. If I want my car fixed I want to distinguish between those who are good mechanics and those who are not. If I go grocery shopping I want to distinguish between fresh vegetables and those that are too far gone. There’s nothing inherently wrong about making these kinds of distinctions, but it sets up a strong habit of mind, a cultivated tendency, that takes for granted that this is the only way to approach the world.
The practice of Renga opens up another way of approaching the world and that is approaching the world in order to comprehend what things share, rather than what distinguishes them. Perhaps what they share is a kind of motion (falling things, rising things), or what they share is the emotional response they illicit in me (the autumn moon, dispersing incense), or maybe what they share is their freshness (spring flowers, a new author I’m just getting to know), etc. What I love about Renga is that it is a method for learning this way of approaching the world without being overt about it. It is a simple result of the practice of Renga that one begins to perceive things in this way.
Best wishes,
Dharmajim
Note: I previously posted the above at the ahapoetry.com forum.
One of the reasons I find Renga attractive, and a reason that I have stuck with the practice of Renga for so many years, is that the practice of Renga teaches one a way of looking at the world that I find healing and expansive. I refer to this effect of practicing Renga as “reweaving the web of the world”.
Renga is about noticing how two situations/images/manifestations are similar; that’s the linking aspect. The connection between these two images is often subtle, but it is nevertheless there. After some time of Renga practice, I found that I would spontaneously notice how situations were connected, how they were similar. So Renga is a kind of gentle mind training/heart training.
Normally, as we go about our day, the mind separates things into distinct categories. This is natural. If I want my car fixed I want to distinguish between those who are good mechanics and those who are not. If I go grocery shopping I want to distinguish between fresh vegetables and those that are too far gone. There’s nothing inherently wrong about making these kinds of distinctions, but it sets up a strong habit of mind, a cultivated tendency, that takes for granted that this is the only way to approach the world.
The practice of Renga opens up another way of approaching the world and that is approaching the world in order to comprehend what things share, rather than what distinguishes them. Perhaps what they share is a kind of motion (falling things, rising things), or what they share is the emotional response they illicit in me (the autumn moon, dispersing incense), or maybe what they share is their freshness (spring flowers, a new author I’m just getting to know), etc. What I love about Renga is that it is a method for learning this way of approaching the world without being overt about it. It is a simple result of the practice of Renga that one begins to perceive things in this way.
Best wishes,
Dharmajim
Note: I previously posted the above at the ahapoetry.com forum.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Cobwebs: A Solo Shisan
Dawn in the garden,
Sunlight from a cloudless sky
Touches the lilacs
Because it is the weekend
He can linger over tea
There's a kind of pause,
Before the children wake up,
That is nourishing
***
She takes her 10-minute break
In the anonymous park
Where some lemon trees,
Blooming in the summer heat,
Lightly scent the air
It reminds him of his Aunt,
His father's younger sister
***
A ceremony,
Sermons and some well-known hymns,
For the departed
Only the slightest sliver
Of the waning moon remains
In the cool crisp air
The brown leaves are still clinging
To the old oak trees
***
While dusty snowflakes descend
For about thirty minutes
The furnace turns on
A closet door is opened
Someone's on their phone
As satellites trace a path
Through cobwebs in the window
Best wishes,
Jim
Sunlight from a cloudless sky
Touches the lilacs
Because it is the weekend
He can linger over tea
There's a kind of pause,
Before the children wake up,
That is nourishing
***
She takes her 10-minute break
In the anonymous park
Where some lemon trees,
Blooming in the summer heat,
Lightly scent the air
It reminds him of his Aunt,
His father's younger sister
***
A ceremony,
Sermons and some well-known hymns,
For the departed
Only the slightest sliver
Of the waning moon remains
In the cool crisp air
The brown leaves are still clinging
To the old oak trees
***
While dusty snowflakes descend
For about thirty minutes
The furnace turns on
A closet door is opened
Someone's on their phone
As satellites trace a path
Through cobwebs in the window
Best wishes,
Jim
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Shaping Words
Good Friends:
I have an overall view of poetry. My view is that poetry is a kind of craft. I refer to the craft of poetry as “shaping words.” Poetry is the deliberate shaping of words into specific forms.
Seen in this way poetry resembles other crafts such as carpentry, which is the shaping of wood; or baking, which is the shaping of flour; or gardening, which is the shaping of plants into attractive forms and placements; or composing, which is the shaping of sound into melodies and musical forms; etc. A carpenter shapes wood into tables and chairs and desks. The poet shapes words into sonnets and sestinas and tanka and renga.
The task of the poet is to learn the tools of the poet’s trade in the way that a carpenter learns the tools of the carpenter’s trade, in the way that a baker learns the tools of the baking trade. A carpenter learns how to use a saw, hammer, nails, and how to measure, along with many other skills. The baker learns about flour, yeast, sweeteners, ovens, along with many other skills. The poet learns about lineation, meter, rhythm, metaphor, simile, resonance, rhyme, the formal structure of specific types of poems, along with many other skills.
At the beginning, a carpenter will make many mistakes, measurements might not align, nails might not hit their mark, etc. But over time, through practice and concentration, a carpenter becomes more familiar with the tools of carpentry and learns from mistakes and becomes more skillful. At the beginning, a baker will make many mistakes, the bread may be too dense, the cake lopsided, the seasoning too strong, etc. But over time the baker becomes more familiar with the tools of baking and learns from mistakes and becomes more skillful. At the beginning, a poet will make many mistakes, line count may be off, rhymes absent or misplaced, rhythm may not flow, or the choice of words may not be communicative, etc. But over time the poet becomes more familiar with the tools of poetry and learns from mistakes and becomes more skillful.
Of the poetic traditions I know, renga is the most explicitly a craft. An aspiring renga poet has to learn the following tools of the renga trade: linking, shifting, lineation, required scenes or topics, placement of scenes, the overall structure of specific renga forms such as shisan, nijuin, junicho, kasen, hyakuin, triparshva, etc. At the beginning, the aspiring renga poet will make many mistakes; linking may be trivial, shifting may be obscure, one might forget about a required scene or topic, the rhythmic flow may be choppy, etc. But over time the renga poet becomes more familiar with the tools of renga, and a growing sense of the flow of a renga begins to become natural. Like other crafts, the best way to learn it is to do it.
Best wishes,
Jim
I have an overall view of poetry. My view is that poetry is a kind of craft. I refer to the craft of poetry as “shaping words.” Poetry is the deliberate shaping of words into specific forms.
Seen in this way poetry resembles other crafts such as carpentry, which is the shaping of wood; or baking, which is the shaping of flour; or gardening, which is the shaping of plants into attractive forms and placements; or composing, which is the shaping of sound into melodies and musical forms; etc. A carpenter shapes wood into tables and chairs and desks. The poet shapes words into sonnets and sestinas and tanka and renga.
The task of the poet is to learn the tools of the poet’s trade in the way that a carpenter learns the tools of the carpenter’s trade, in the way that a baker learns the tools of the baking trade. A carpenter learns how to use a saw, hammer, nails, and how to measure, along with many other skills. The baker learns about flour, yeast, sweeteners, ovens, along with many other skills. The poet learns about lineation, meter, rhythm, metaphor, simile, resonance, rhyme, the formal structure of specific types of poems, along with many other skills.
At the beginning, a carpenter will make many mistakes, measurements might not align, nails might not hit their mark, etc. But over time, through practice and concentration, a carpenter becomes more familiar with the tools of carpentry and learns from mistakes and becomes more skillful. At the beginning, a baker will make many mistakes, the bread may be too dense, the cake lopsided, the seasoning too strong, etc. But over time the baker becomes more familiar with the tools of baking and learns from mistakes and becomes more skillful. At the beginning, a poet will make many mistakes, line count may be off, rhymes absent or misplaced, rhythm may not flow, or the choice of words may not be communicative, etc. But over time the poet becomes more familiar with the tools of poetry and learns from mistakes and becomes more skillful.
Of the poetic traditions I know, renga is the most explicitly a craft. An aspiring renga poet has to learn the following tools of the renga trade: linking, shifting, lineation, required scenes or topics, placement of scenes, the overall structure of specific renga forms such as shisan, nijuin, junicho, kasen, hyakuin, triparshva, etc. At the beginning, the aspiring renga poet will make many mistakes; linking may be trivial, shifting may be obscure, one might forget about a required scene or topic, the rhythmic flow may be choppy, etc. But over time the renga poet becomes more familiar with the tools of renga, and a growing sense of the flow of a renga begins to become natural. Like other crafts, the best way to learn it is to do it.
Best wishes,
Jim
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Shelter: A Solo Shisan
Shelter
On this quiet night
Under the moon's silver light
People are dreaming
As Devas offer guidance
In the silence of a glance
A possum freezes
In the headlights of a car
That brakes just in time
***
"It makes a big difference,
All that new insulation."
While folding laundry
She makes plans for tomorrow
And for the next week
"I'm sorry you can't make it.
That's OK. Another time."
***
For him it's a song,
Even after all these years,
The sound of her voice
Mingling with a steady wind
And the falling plum blossoms
Starlings are in flight
During the long, slow sunset
Clouds of red and gold
***
She begins her second job,
The bills just keep coming in
The weather report:
At least five more days of heat,
And no rain in sight
In an abandoned building
A runaway finds a home
Best wishes,
Jim
On this quiet night
Under the moon's silver light
People are dreaming
As Devas offer guidance
In the silence of a glance
A possum freezes
In the headlights of a car
That brakes just in time
***
"It makes a big difference,
All that new insulation."
While folding laundry
She makes plans for tomorrow
And for the next week
"I'm sorry you can't make it.
That's OK. Another time."
***
For him it's a song,
Even after all these years,
The sound of her voice
Mingling with a steady wind
And the falling plum blossoms
Starlings are in flight
During the long, slow sunset
Clouds of red and gold
***
She begins her second job,
The bills just keep coming in
The weather report:
At least five more days of heat,
And no rain in sight
In an abandoned building
A runaway finds a home
Best wishes,
Jim
Friday, April 18, 2008
Categories and Topics
Every verse in a renga can be classified according to topic. One of the ways renga maintains its non-narrative structural flow is to shift topics. Two consecutive verses are linked by topic, but the first and third of three consecutive verses are not so linked; this is what constitutes “shift”.
In the classical approach to renga there are lists of topics, containing key words that denote that topic, which renga poets become familiar with. The topic lists evolved over time, but in general there is a consistency that is for the most part maintained. Here is a modern example of a Topic List by Jane Reichhold (see www.ahapoetry.com):
The Seasons
Celestial
Terrestrial
Livelihood
Animals
Plants
Moods
Occasions
A more traditional Topic List is taken from Higginson (see renku.home.att.net):
The Seasons
The Heavens
The Earth
Humanity
Observances
Animals
Plants
One can observe that both lists, for the most part, share the same focus.
I have worked with both of these Topic Lists, as well as some gleaned from my readings. For a long time I worked with the following list of topics:
The Seasons
Time
Celestial
Terrestrial
Humanity
Animals
Plants
Deities
This scheme worked very well for me because I was engaged in a lot of experiments that sought to distinguish time and season. Recently, though, I have developed a simplified List that contains only three basic Categories:
Celestial
Terrestrial
Humanity
I think that all the other topics that I’ve seen can be placed under one of these three primary Categories. But what about the other topics that are so prominent and important in renga composition? I treat these as sub-topics of these three main categories as follows:
Celestial
Topics
Moon
Sun
Stars
Time
Other celestial phenomena
Terrestrial
Topics
Seasons
Animals
Plants
Mountains
Oceans and rivers
Geographical features
Humanity
Topics
Love
Moods
Work
Politics
Science
Any human related activity
The first item in each category refers to one of the required scenes that all renga need to have. In this way Heaven, Earth, and Humanity are contained within each renga and each renga becomes a kind of microcosmos encompassing the totality of existence.
A word needs to be said about Time and Season topics. The Season Topic is placed under the Terrestrial Category instead of a category of its own. This is probably the greatest difference between the above system of classification and the more traditional approaches. My justification for doing this is that Season is an Earth based manifestation that exists independently of time. A Summer Verse can refer to the month of July, or the month of January, depending on where on earth the verse is rooted in. In other words, Time and Season are separate categories. This hasn’t been an issue until recently because renga was confined to Japan where seasonal reference is united to the calendar because of the small geographical range. As renga goes global, however, this situation has changed and we can no longer assume that, for example, “July” is a summer season word, or that “Christmas” necessarily designates the winter season. This is the primary reason why I have placed Season under the Terrestrial category, so that it will be simpler to comprehend the global context in which renga is now written.
The Time Topic is placed under the Celestial Category. This is because Time is based on astronomical relationships. The monthly names, such as September or April, are a shorthand for a particular relationship between the Sun, Moon, and Earth. This relationship is complexly related to season; but the important thing to keep in mind is that a Time Word does not designate a Season. For example, “September” can be Fall or Spring, depending on where on Earth one resides.
It is of crucial importance, I feel, that time and season be separated if renga is to go global. It can no longer maintain associations that grew out of a localized cultural context, but do not apply outside of that context.
When I analyze a verse I do so by referring to the verse by both the Category and Topic, for example:
Humanity/Love
Terrestrial/Pond
Celestial/Comet
The analysis can be further refined, for example:
Humanity/Love/Parting
Terrestrial/Pond/Clear
Celestial/Comet/Halley’s
The advantage of this kind of analysis over previous Topic Lists that I have used is that one can observe how close, and how distant, two verses are by using this schema. For example, in a series of love verses:
First love verse: Humanity/Love/Meeting
Second love verse: Humanity/Love/Dating
Third love verse: Humanity/Love/Meeting
Here one can see that the first and third verses are too close. They are the same topic, where they should have shifted. The third verse should be either Humanity/Love/Enduring, or perhaps Humanity/Love/Parting, or in an extended form renga, such as the 100 verse Hyakuin, the third verse could continue the second love verse’s scheme as Humanity/Love/Dating. But the third verse should not return to the Category and Topic schema of the first verse in the series.
Using such an approach to Topics, if the first item in the series, the Category, is different, this constitutes a major shift. If the second item in the series, the Main Topic, is different, this is a moderate shift. If the first two items are the same, and the third one is different, this constitutes a subtle shift. If all three are the same, then there is no topical shift and that, in general, is a signal that one needs to revise.
It is possible for the series to go longer than three items, but my experience is that this is almost always unnecessary and does not help in articulating needed shifts. If, however, one is writing a 100 Verse Renga, a Hyakuin, where there are sequences on a single topic, such as Spring, that can run up to five verses, then a more refined analysis might be of assistance.
I hope this will be of some use in your own renga composition.
Every verse in a renga can be classified according to topic. One of the ways renga maintains its non-narrative structural flow is to shift topics. Two consecutive verses are linked by topic, but the first and third of three consecutive verses are not so linked; this is what constitutes “shift”.
In the classical approach to renga there are lists of topics, containing key words that denote that topic, which renga poets become familiar with. The topic lists evolved over time, but in general there is a consistency that is for the most part maintained. Here is a modern example of a Topic List by Jane Reichhold (see www.ahapoetry.com):
The Seasons
Celestial
Terrestrial
Livelihood
Animals
Plants
Moods
Occasions
A more traditional Topic List is taken from Higginson (see renku.home.att.net):
The Seasons
The Heavens
The Earth
Humanity
Observances
Animals
Plants
One can observe that both lists, for the most part, share the same focus.
I have worked with both of these Topic Lists, as well as some gleaned from my readings. For a long time I worked with the following list of topics:
The Seasons
Time
Celestial
Terrestrial
Humanity
Animals
Plants
Deities
This scheme worked very well for me because I was engaged in a lot of experiments that sought to distinguish time and season. Recently, though, I have developed a simplified List that contains only three basic Categories:
Celestial
Terrestrial
Humanity
I think that all the other topics that I’ve seen can be placed under one of these three primary Categories. But what about the other topics that are so prominent and important in renga composition? I treat these as sub-topics of these three main categories as follows:
Celestial
Topics
Moon
Sun
Stars
Time
Other celestial phenomena
Terrestrial
Topics
Seasons
Animals
Plants
Mountains
Oceans and rivers
Geographical features
Humanity
Topics
Love
Moods
Work
Politics
Science
Any human related activity
The first item in each category refers to one of the required scenes that all renga need to have. In this way Heaven, Earth, and Humanity are contained within each renga and each renga becomes a kind of microcosmos encompassing the totality of existence.
A word needs to be said about Time and Season topics. The Season Topic is placed under the Terrestrial Category instead of a category of its own. This is probably the greatest difference between the above system of classification and the more traditional approaches. My justification for doing this is that Season is an Earth based manifestation that exists independently of time. A Summer Verse can refer to the month of July, or the month of January, depending on where on earth the verse is rooted in. In other words, Time and Season are separate categories. This hasn’t been an issue until recently because renga was confined to Japan where seasonal reference is united to the calendar because of the small geographical range. As renga goes global, however, this situation has changed and we can no longer assume that, for example, “July” is a summer season word, or that “Christmas” necessarily designates the winter season. This is the primary reason why I have placed Season under the Terrestrial category, so that it will be simpler to comprehend the global context in which renga is now written.
The Time Topic is placed under the Celestial Category. This is because Time is based on astronomical relationships. The monthly names, such as September or April, are a shorthand for a particular relationship between the Sun, Moon, and Earth. This relationship is complexly related to season; but the important thing to keep in mind is that a Time Word does not designate a Season. For example, “September” can be Fall or Spring, depending on where on Earth one resides.
It is of crucial importance, I feel, that time and season be separated if renga is to go global. It can no longer maintain associations that grew out of a localized cultural context, but do not apply outside of that context.
When I analyze a verse I do so by referring to the verse by both the Category and Topic, for example:
Humanity/Love
Terrestrial/Pond
Celestial/Comet
The analysis can be further refined, for example:
Humanity/Love/Parting
Terrestrial/Pond/Clear
Celestial/Comet/Halley’s
The advantage of this kind of analysis over previous Topic Lists that I have used is that one can observe how close, and how distant, two verses are by using this schema. For example, in a series of love verses:
First love verse: Humanity/Love/Meeting
Second love verse: Humanity/Love/Dating
Third love verse: Humanity/Love/Meeting
Here one can see that the first and third verses are too close. They are the same topic, where they should have shifted. The third verse should be either Humanity/Love/Enduring, or perhaps Humanity/Love/Parting, or in an extended form renga, such as the 100 verse Hyakuin, the third verse could continue the second love verse’s scheme as Humanity/Love/Dating. But the third verse should not return to the Category and Topic schema of the first verse in the series.
Using such an approach to Topics, if the first item in the series, the Category, is different, this constitutes a major shift. If the second item in the series, the Main Topic, is different, this is a moderate shift. If the first two items are the same, and the third one is different, this constitutes a subtle shift. If all three are the same, then there is no topical shift and that, in general, is a signal that one needs to revise.
It is possible for the series to go longer than three items, but my experience is that this is almost always unnecessary and does not help in articulating needed shifts. If, however, one is writing a 100 Verse Renga, a Hyakuin, where there are sequences on a single topic, such as Spring, that can run up to five verses, then a more refined analysis might be of assistance.
I hope this will be of some use in your own renga composition.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Museum: A Solo Shisan
Museum
I don't know the name
(It isn't Apple or Plum)
Of those white blossoms
On the tree across the creek
At the State Park where I hike
Two blackbirds keep watch,
You cannot be too careful,
You just never know
***
What is around the corner,
Perhaps a summer romance
But he is thinking
Of something more enduring
Maybe she'll agree
A seed falls upon the ground
Waiting for the rain to fall
***
After the clouds clear
And after the sun has set
The October moon
Permeates the business park
When the cleaning crews depart
The raccoons come out;
There are lots of discarded,
Half-eaten lunches
***
Time to clear out the closet
Of things she will never use
In the Museum
Of Natural History
Stacked trays of fossils
Mom's sweater, knit years before,
Still keeps him warm in the snow
Best wishes,
Jim
I don't know the name
(It isn't Apple or Plum)
Of those white blossoms
On the tree across the creek
At the State Park where I hike
Two blackbirds keep watch,
You cannot be too careful,
You just never know
***
What is around the corner,
Perhaps a summer romance
But he is thinking
Of something more enduring
Maybe she'll agree
A seed falls upon the ground
Waiting for the rain to fall
***
After the clouds clear
And after the sun has set
The October moon
Permeates the business park
When the cleaning crews depart
The raccoons come out;
There are lots of discarded,
Half-eaten lunches
***
Time to clear out the closet
Of things she will never use
In the Museum
Of Natural History
Stacked trays of fossils
Mom's sweater, knit years before,
Still keeps him warm in the snow
Best wishes,
Jim
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Heaven, Earth, and Humanity
Good Friends:
I've been thinking about what I call the "Renga Scenes", or "Renga Landmarks"; those topics that have specific locations in a Renga. These include verses for the Moon, verses for Flowering Trees, and verses on Love. What I've been contemplating is how these three topics encompass the cosmos, and that the Renga Journey becomes a kind of cosmic journey through the use of these specific topics.
The Moon Verses refer to the Heavens. One could also call them "celestial." The Moon, and its constantly shifting phases, is the most prominent, and beautiful, feature of the heavens from our perspective on planet earth.
The Flower Tree verses refer to the Earth, they are Terrestrial verses. Trees emerge from the earth, they are an expression of Earth, and in their flowering form they express the beauty of the Earth.
The Love Verses are verses focused on Humanity. Renga chooses the topic of "Love", rather than other kinds of human activities, such as work, study, politics, science, etc. I think this is because Love is to Humanity, what a Flowering Tree is to the Earth, and what the Moon is to the Heavens. In all three realms Renga focuses on specific manifestations that are both beautiful, heartfelt, and transient, constantly changing.
These three pillars of Renga, the Moon, Flowering Trees, and Love verses, serve to make each Renga a kind of microcosmos that reflects and instantiates the cosmos in which we live out our lives.
Best wishes,
Jim
I've been thinking about what I call the "Renga Scenes", or "Renga Landmarks"; those topics that have specific locations in a Renga. These include verses for the Moon, verses for Flowering Trees, and verses on Love. What I've been contemplating is how these three topics encompass the cosmos, and that the Renga Journey becomes a kind of cosmic journey through the use of these specific topics.
The Moon Verses refer to the Heavens. One could also call them "celestial." The Moon, and its constantly shifting phases, is the most prominent, and beautiful, feature of the heavens from our perspective on planet earth.
The Flower Tree verses refer to the Earth, they are Terrestrial verses. Trees emerge from the earth, they are an expression of Earth, and in their flowering form they express the beauty of the Earth.
The Love Verses are verses focused on Humanity. Renga chooses the topic of "Love", rather than other kinds of human activities, such as work, study, politics, science, etc. I think this is because Love is to Humanity, what a Flowering Tree is to the Earth, and what the Moon is to the Heavens. In all three realms Renga focuses on specific manifestations that are both beautiful, heartfelt, and transient, constantly changing.
These three pillars of Renga, the Moon, Flowering Trees, and Love verses, serve to make each Renga a kind of microcosmos that reflects and instantiates the cosmos in which we live out our lives.
Best wishes,
Jim
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