The following information on the poetic form Renga stems from poets.org (the underlined parts are my own doing because of my intent to invite you, dear reader to consider giving this tradition a chance in the “Comments” section of this post):
“Renga, meaning ‘linked poem,’ began over seven hundred years ago in Japan to encourage the collaborative composition of poems. Poets worked in pairs or small groups, taking turns composing the alternating three-line and two-line stanzas. [. . .] To create a renga, one poet writes the first stanza, which is three lines long with a total of seventeen syllables. The next poet adds the second stanza, a couplet with seven syllables per line. The third stanza repeats the structure of the first and the fourth repeats the second, alternating in this pattern until the poem’s end. [. . .] Thematic elements of renga are perhaps most crucial to the poem’s success. The language is often pastoral, incorporating words and images associated with seasons, nature, and love. In order for the poem to achieve its trajectory, each poet writes a new stanza that leaps from only the stanza preceding it. This leap advances both the thematic movement as well as maintaining the linking component.”
And here comes my attempt at a Renga-poem:
leaves began to rain from the sky
the Sun cried its rays
clouds yelled their blues
© hülya n. yılmaz, January 1, 2019
hülyaswritings 