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