A cool June morning
Even though it is summer
It still feels like spring
A crisp, clear, empty blue sky
Not even a bird flies by
It's a weekday, but
There's hardly any traffic;
Silence as absence
A Sagittarius wind
Briefly shakes the wooden gate
A cascade of leaves
Tumbles past the closed window
And the vase of roses
She pulls her knitted cap down
Over her ears and forehead
An indifferent dog
Sniffs its way through spilled garbage;
But it's just old clothes
He hopes his shoes will last through
The whole of a harsh winter
The rising full moon
Somehow seems malevolent
When one wants shadows
The last to leave the office
Locking the door behind them
A workplace romance
Since they are both unmarried
There is much laughter
They still like to tell storeis
Of those days when they first met
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Very nice.
Earlier in discussing the similarities and differences between Junicho and Shisan you wrote:
"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)."
My question:
Are the two forms otherwise similar in terms of syllabics and linking?
Thanks,
Dan
Hi Dan:
Yes, the two forms are the same regarding such techniques as linking and shifting. Where they differ is the placement of topics. The Shisan is specific regarding seasonal placement, whereas it is open regarding the Love, Moon, and Blossom verses. The Junicho is open regarding seasonsal placement (except that the first verse needs to reflect the season of when the Renga is written) and the three topical verses of Love, Moon, and Blossom.
I hope to post more about the Junicho on Friday. But I thought I would add here that I've actually found it more difficult to write a good Junicho than a Shisan. The Shisan gives one a tight, but natural, framework to pour one's creativity into. The Junicho leaves much more open to the poet and therefore more room for poor execution.
Rengajim
Post a Comment