one
persimmon
an autumn kasen renku
sabaki: Bill Lerz
advisor: Eiko Yachimoto
contributing poets:
Howard Lee Kilby
Jeanne Lowenthal
Johnye Strickland
Bill Lerz
Susan Delaney-Mech
Celia Stuart-Powles
Robert Gilliland
begun 8-15-01; completed 9-24-01
one persimmon
hangs over the lake
on a thin branch
................Howard
rose hip tea
fogs crisp autumn air
........Jeanne
déjà vu -
students with red backpacks
wait for the yellow school bus
................Johnye
first snow
at the football game
........Bill
sugar moon
licking
a maple icicle
................Susan
vase shattered
the cat coolly grooms
........Celia
deep meditation
Buddhist monk shouts
aha
................Bill
the janitor opens a window
the stench of zen
........Howard
reflections
bubble to the surface
a tear drops
................Jeanne
jarred awake by war planes
Palestinian lovers
........Johnye
estate sale
from her volume of Browning
a rose petal falls
................Robert
another gray hair
my shadow on steam
........Susan
wash up time
helping daddy long legs
out of the sink
................Celia
caught in the summer rain
her new suede shoes
........Bill
outdoor wedding
10,000 people married
Sun Myung Moon
................Howard
mountain meadow
the boggy smell of blueberries
........Jeanne
bamboo sprouts
in the garden, flute music
the poet reminisces
................Johnye
again this spring
that unnamed tree in bloom
........Robert
cool morning
the tulips
closed again
................Susan
in and out of the clouds
the skylark's recurrent song
........Celia
a midnight stroll
the prostitute drinks wine
out of a brown bag
................Bill
reading a romance novel
after a hard day's work
........Howard
contented
his shoulder
touching mine
................Jeanne
Loveboat in dry dock -
the captain dines alone
........Johnye
cloudless summer sky
a silver airplane banks left
toward the skyscraper
................Robert
semaphoring hello
the trucker's mudflap
........Susan
watching the river
beneath murky water
the dim glint of fish
................Celia
saffron slickers in the rain
limp flags at half mast
........Bill
a newspaper reporter
takes the day off -
soaks in a hot bath
........Howard
the moon's last sliver
inspires hope
........Jeanne
the child with almond eyes
bravely waves goodbye
to her soldier dad
................Johnye
the long night
on each channel the same thing
........Robert
first light
distant suns
fade
................Susan
squinting and sequined
"Judy" enters the wig shop
........Celia
blossoming halos
the newlyweds celebrate
their first communion
................Bill
late frost
tadpoles circling beneath the ice
........Robert
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