Editor's Note
In presenting this renga I have maintained the "scaffolding" notes to indicate how the writers structured the piece. The numbered links with initials indicate who wrote each link. There are six six-link sections (a total of 36 links); the writer who completes a section starts the next. This is a semi-traditional renga, in that the theme is not traditional (as in a traditional "season" renga). However, the form itself is fairly tradtional, e.g., the number of total links, the length of the sections, the trading of links and switching the order every six links. Basic linking rules were adhered to, including the last link relating back to the first (hokku). To learn more about the structure and form of renga, visit some of the sites listed in the Japanese forms section of my Poetry Links Library.

lost and found
a renga
by Layne Russell and Thomas D. Greer


    *
 *polo!   *polo*
    f   i r*  f   e
       *marco!*     l*    s
  *polo*
                              1:tg


stars of Sagitarius
sink behind the mountain
                              2:lr


at this distance
long after the wave
the voice
                              3:tg


white fog curls around redwoods
the phone ringing inside
                              4:lr

		
cigarette ash. . .
bartender punctuates
with the match
                              5:tg


firelight on the walll
his shadow toward me
                              6:lr


clouds over canyon
blue cast on red rock— 
black swifts dive and dart
                              7:lr


raindrops on the window
follow-the-leader
                              8:tg


open curtains
sun on glass
two little faces
                              9:lr


autumn moon
in the birdbath
                              10:tg 


water droplets
web between willows
yellow spider motionless
                              11:lr


deep breathing
the stars move
                              12:tg

 
nap time. . .
my ears attuned
to whispers
                              13:tg 


soft flute
through an open window
                              14:lr


first snow. . .
low flying geese
circle my garden pond
                              15:tg


gust of wind
catches my long black skirt
                              16:lr 


shaking leaves
from her hair. . .
fall and fall again
                              17:tg


morning walk home. . .
petals in his pocket
                              18:lr

                 
river trail
swirls of green— 
in the pines a doe
                              19:lr 


new watercolor set. . .
he paints a seascape
                              20:tg


breeze from the west— 
tall gold grass
brushes bare legs
                              21:lr


afternoon snooze...
dandelions between my toes
                              22:tg


all my fingers
move down the buttons. . .
mine then yours
                              23:lr

				   
in the background
guitar arpeggios
                              24:tg

                    
rising and falling. . .
by the end of the story
breathing in sync
                              25:tg


dawn meditation
silver light hits the bell
                              26:lr


snooze button
half-a-second ahead
of the alarm
                              27:tg


breaks through the ribbon
her first first
                              28:lr


breathless
promise-not-to-tell. . .
finger to lips
                              29:tg


words so soft
their heads touch
                              30:lr

            
box of notebooks
in the basement— 
poems in faded ink 
                              31:lr
 
		
garage sale surprise:
tie-dyes for top-dollar
                              32:tg


fifth shelf up
jar of pennies
oder than her mother
                              33:lr


all she left behind. . . 
hat boxes of spare buttons
                              34:tg


a hundred acres with cabin
virgin stand of red fir
last on the mountain
                              35:lr


lost and found...
Christopher Robin
                              36:tg


© 1997 Leslye Layne Russell & Thomas D. Greer
This renga was written over the course of a year.


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