Renga Roundtable • Spring 2011
Dr. Randy Brooks

Team Kasen "Haiku"

by
Cindy Chen, Becky Smith, Nora Kocher, & Tara Goheen

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Cindy Chen also participated as an
author in the following renga:

Woppy-Soppy

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Momentum Carries Us

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the ticking clock
keeps me awake
spring rain

spending nights
snuggled up to you

small talk
over the morning paper
amd tea

sunshine wakes the earth up
as you say good-bye

the scent of coffee
reminds me
of grandma

my daily routine
forgetting the fight

•

using hymnals for fans
in the crowded pews
midsummer wedding

drawing in a notebook
a new page between us

tattered photos
hidden
in a shoebox

postcards from Tokyo
under our memories

from the gate
in London
a 6 am phone call

heading south for winter
homesick of mom's cooking

•

crusted burnt cheese
atop
the hash browns

candlelight dinner
power failure again

settled on the puppy name
she wonders aloud about
good names for a baby

sitting alone in shadow
lunar eclipse occurs

bakery worker
knows me
by name

a cherry truffle
for all my troubles

•

do nothing
a house lizard
stares at me

a single twig
cracks under his feet

tiptoeing
to safety
atop the steps

recalling a story from childhood
his flag draped casket

closed eyes
pondering her
next words

distant music creates
tension in the air

•

a few tears
hold back feelings

alone at our
sonogram appointment
I swear she has your nose

without asking
a flower tattooed on your arm

cherry blossoms
permanently
kissing her shoulder

in remembrance
of a high school love

I show my daughter
that old photograph
as she dresses for prom

•

memory wandering
through our last dinner

curls graze
her eyelashes
a three year giggle

growing up
college in her dream

one summer in Europe
a love affair
changes everything

the first glimpse of smile
predicts our future

cameras flash
I switch the sides
of my graduation tassel

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