a spring nijuin renku
by Aparna Pathak and Ferris Gilli

emerging ants
scattered bread crusts
around the school bench

this long day the sisters
begin a science project

another leaf
in the collection
of a tea picker's son

clean china cups
wait ready for use

a heron
peaking the moon
in the clay bowl

lying on the terrace we watch stars
in each other’s eyes

after the war
the celebrities’ reluctance
to break their embrace

the injured soldier
gluing a hula doll

bed sheets
on a clothesline
billow in the wind

the ball rolls up
to the boundary and stops

with a loud sneeze
the flu season
begins

even the last ember
extinguishes

the king finally content
in the coziness
of his mistress's hideaway

a glimpse of her bosom
in the lightning

as big as a car tire
the harvest moon
reveals their music notes

cricket, if you want to sing
I can play the guitar

I turn
to a familiar voice
in masquerade

who knows the man
in the spy shop?

everybody's head
dotted with
cherry blossoms

tadpoles move as one
into a shaft of sunlight