Blossoms into Stars (kasen)

Kasen: “Blossoms into Stars” * 

(Gabriola Island, July 18, 2014)

Participating Poets & Verse Allocation:

Sonja Arntzen (sabaki) 1, 9, 15, 22, 29, 36
Terry Ann Carter 7, 13, 20, 27, 34
Kim Goldberg 3, 11, 17, 25, 31
Carole MacRury 2, 10, 16, 23, 30
Vicki McCullough 8, 14, 21, 28, 35
kjmunro 4, 12, 18, 24, 32
Naomi Beth Wakan 5, 6, 19, 26, 33

Side 1 

1. mid-tide, mid-summer
   a long hot spell offers up
   the hint of change

2. a super moon, yet
   still a familiar face

3. the brightness
   reveals a path I thought
   I had lost

4. along the beach, wave
   after wave after wave

5. oystercatchers
   cry hysterically lest
   their feet get wet

6. how we hesitate on the edge
   fearful, yet eager

Side 2

7. wondering if he will call
   she places a cherry blossom
   behind her ear

8. almost unseen
   the frog

9. by the old pond
   Bashō
   waits

10. tick tock, tick tock
    the long day of the retired

11. people-watching
    in the coffee shop, Santa
    already in the window

12. the heart in her low-fat foam
    breaks

13. coded message
    in his sumi-e scroll
    under the pillow

14. wrestling once more
    with the wrath of God

15. slithery sound
    of the pampas grass
    restless in the wind

16. who comes to my door
    this autumn evening?

17. spill of moonlight
    and dry leaves
    tumble in

18. a hairpin holds the pages
    of the handmade book

Side 3

19. in the mirror
    the kabuki actor changes
    from male to female

20. the fortune teller makes
    a small prediction

21. silver spandex stretched
    across the belly
    eight months blown

22. Edith Piaf’s husky voice
    “je ne regrette rien…”

23. the time it takes
    for the penitent to leave
    the confessional

24. full moon
    goin’ swimmin’ without women

25. goblins
    walk the sea wall
    trail of candy wrappers

26. stubble left in the field
    as the hay bales pile up

27. Cambodian land mines
    still active throughout
    the jungle

28. the overhead fan
    in a hotbox hotel

29. even for a sun lover
    this holiday
    is a trial

30. after a long day
    a hung jury

Side 4

31. when will I reach
    the centre
    of the labyrinth?

32. evening stroll
    his hand in her pocket

33. long years together
    they begin to resemble
    each other

34. the only cure for grief
    is grief itself

35. as the earth turns—
    blossoms
    into stars

36. grass for my pillow
    drifting off to sleep

 

* The kasen is a 36-verse form of renku, a type of Japanese collaborative poetry whose most famous practitioner was Matsuo Bashō (1644–1694). This particular kasen, “Blossoms into Stars”, is based on a template found in a kasen by Bashō (et al.) called “Throughout the Town”. For those interested in our process, the seven of us composed this kasen in a 9-hour session (with a 3-hour break in the afternoon). We all sat around a large table in the library of our sabaki’s beautiful log home perched on a cliff overlooking the sea. When each person’s turn came up, she picked up her pad and paper and moved outside to compose her verse, while the rest of us remained at the table sipping green tea and discussing the intricacies and customs and history of renga and renku.