My thanks to the poets who joined me in writing this renku:
Paddy White (PW)
wendy c bialek (WCB)
James Young (JY)
Robert Horrobin (RH)
Pat Geyer (PG)
Giddy Nielsen-Sweep (GNS)
Jonathan Roman (JR)
Nicky Gutierrez (NG)
Hemapriya Chellappan (HC)
Ian Speed (IS)
David J Kelly (DJK)
Craig Kittner (CK)
m shane pruett (MSP)
Dorothy Burrows (DB)
Bisshie (B)
beggar
palms up
facing the sun
PW
a passing dog
smells the soles of his shoes
B
immigrants’ dreams
in cement
standing
WCB
rain clouds gathering
no bed at the hostel
B
stone epitaphs
my tomb is bigger than yours
all are dead
JY
gargoyles grin
as they piss on the fallen
RH
seeing his breath
only the living can feel
the cold
RH
a ray of light
rage thaws the frost
B
moonlight calm
sets daylight frenzy…
dawn chorus
PG
butcherbird sings the morning in
I’m no longer alone
GNS
slow day
the peach tree blooms
in his cup
JR
the rhythm of coins
determines his future
B
the stars
unseen
this city night
NG
this windy darkness
a plastic bag floats even higher
HC
the moon
can’t reverse
a rising tide
IS
just before sunrise
he catches only one fish
B
pennywort
richer for a journey
on the river’s bank
DJK
drawn by the smoke
cops douse his cook fire
CK
overabundant
castaways in the mud
under bridges
CK
swept under tattered rugs
the problem hides in plain sight
MSP
through mist
heads together
a gleam
DB
the deafening sound
of silent protest
B