Fallen Leaves Fill the Sky: a Hyakuin Renga

the growing snowdrifts
of another nor’easter
her grandmother’s quilt

shattered Christmas ornaments
his boyhood in a dustpan

the eastern grey squirrel
seeks a fading memory
buried hazelnuts

scurrying inside the walls
the cat’s ears on high alert

in the stubble field
the raucous cry of a crow
foraging for corn

blackened barley smut scattered
a year of work up in smoke

playing peekaboo
we look for the Winesong Moon
through mackerel clouds

turning the Jack-‘o-lantern
concealing the miscut lines

spilled cider splashes
on the apples of his cheeks
orchard wagon ride

the black backs of humpback whales
cracking the ‘Au’au Channel

I’m forever changed
a piece of me left behind
Hawaiian islands

now only a line of stones
marking where our farmhouse stood

goat chews happily
on the rusty metal can
complacent worker

in the language of earthworms
love and death are the same word

he uses his bait
to attract the nicest catch
midnight skinny dip

a short night is long enough
for a romp in the spruce trees

satin sheet slips down
her rounded mounds on display
Berries Ripen Moon

seeing all the shades of pink
through a crystal champagne flute

bubble-filled glass tub
Mt. Pocono’s finest suite
for the bride and groom

her lilies-of-the-valley
pressed inside Little Women

the young girl jumps up
grasping the dogwood petals
Dutch braid confetti

the Lyrids gently falling
into the mockingbird‘s nest

Alpha Centauri
slowly growing in the eye
of the orchid snail

downward spiral depression
tulips tell me I’m crazy

Dave Coulier and
Alanis Morissette are
back on speaking terms

you ought to know I love you
stop looking in the teacups

the Himalayas
are India’s villanelle
written to Asia

romantic tent camping trip
moans and growls scare off the bear

scientists are stunned
that moss piglets can survive
the vacuum of space

the boys’ imaginations
turn puddles into mud baths

runaway trolley
five on this track—one on that
do you throw the switch?

the actual question is
would you sacrifice yourself?

we all just assume
that Courtney Love had him snuffed
for “About a Girl”

the cheerleader’s teen spirit
lost to the jock on prom night

endlessly gnawing
they tame their teeth on oaks then
twin the Beaver Moon

the groundhog sees his shadow
he pours himself more mulled wine

piled empty bottles
fill the cabin to the brim
everyday the same

divided tongues as of fire
one sat upon each of them*

outside the clinic
prayers overcome chanting
light drowns out the dark

a red enso with one stroke
her thoughts louder than the brush

an owl perched on top
the artist’s still life until
a rat races by

winks, does a jig, and passes
through a magical portal

an upside down world
people watch the fallen leaves
fill the sky with shapes

her fairy godmother helps
her pick the perfect pumpkin

she has till midnight
get the prince or bear the curse
of the Harvest Moon

powder of perfect sleep: yew
burned by salamander’s fire

dusting of cobwebs
wiping down the walls inside
that keep others out

preying mantis nymphs astir
what does something so small eat?

scamper on your arm
shriek from an unwanted friend
nope, just clematis

letting the dandelions
be an easy decision

tourists gathering
around the Amish children
in their plain clothing

horseshoe hits the center pole
leaner gets them two more points

go until you find
where the Firmament touches
the giant Ice Wall

take a selfie then return
through the wardrobe in my room

Santa Barbara
running through her head Daisy
weeps on Gatsby’s shirts

waiting at the school bus stop
mom’s sleeve becomes a tissue

pulling apart layers
of baklava wondering
why he couldn’t speak

unexpected breeze blows by
his dessert on full display

the aeronaut quotes
The Quality of Mercy
as they plunge earthward

taking in one last deep breath
the bungee cord his lifeline

summer solstice storm
lightning connecting the east
and west horizons

Peking duck with orange sauce
July 4th appetizer

Velvet Antler Moon
spiral galaxies spinning
from their starlit skulls

ticket sales for Mercury
the albino books his flight

blistering sunburn
wishing he never bought that
lottery ticket

Gordon Gano wrote Kiss Off
sitting in calculus class

top track athlete fails
only hurdle he couldn’t
defeat: writer’s block

paying ¥15,000
for a square watermelon

little boy acts out
Romeo and Juliet
using his globe grapes

Bing Liveheinger Live Link Burt
Herkern Bingo Linkfucker^

silo lightning strike
the scarecrow sits up and says,
“hay, pumpkin, plow, me”

yellow liquidambar leaves
covering the cobblestones

stacks of totem rocks
wolves baying in the moonlight
one hour till dawn

I wish I could stay with you
but I have to go to work

home office lunch break
covering the laptop camera
afternoon delight

hands sharing the afterglow
of a ceramic French press

forgetting my day
steeping the cherry blossoms
in milk and honey

gone before the greenbottles
even found them corpse flowers

sandstone megaliths
surround the vast tumulus
waiting for nothing

digging in the grassy dunes
snapping turtle Easter eggs

in the huon pines
unnoticed by wattlebirds
thylacacine tracks

drinking dew from buttercups
because it’s tea time somewhere

after the wildfire
king proteas start to bud
throughout the fynbos

father shows son how to tend
the oven for tender roast

nightshade and mandrakes
stitched into her shift and stays
she heads to Salem

getting revenge tailor style
inseams sewn up 2 inches

the new alpha male
rips out the lion cubs’ throats
their mothers purring

graveyard’s tiniest headstone
stamped Little Shoes, Never Worn

we read and reread
from the Voynich Manuscript
until our tongues freeze

Aurora Borealis
every moon a Winter Moon

after the Last War
we waited seventeen years
for the thaw to come

the arctic fox rolls over,
yips, and then wakes from his sleep

afraid of the dark
he recites Psalm 20:1
like mother taught him

the brass bells of the temple
call the lichens to prayer

rich man strolls on by
pockets full of jingling coins
beggar’s cup still bare

kinnikinnick sustaining
the brown elfin butterflies

father cannot keep
his daughter’s wings from spreading
time stops for no one

preserved in an April frost
the scent of wild hyacinths

weeping cherry tree
she wonders which branch will hold
the weight of her world

only a twig keeps open
the Gates of Ivory and Horn

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This renga was started on 12/1/22 and

completed on 12/31/22 via the Notes app on the authors’ iPhones.

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*Acts 2:3 KJV

^Schitt’s Creek Season 1, Episode 6