First Honorable Mention, 2004 HSA Renku Awards
Kasen written at Onawa, Maine
John Stevenson
Yu Chang
Hilary Tann
Paul W. MacNeil
Judges: Raffael de Gruttola and Judson Evans
* * *
Picking Our Way
jo
picking our way
with a flashlight
mushrooms here and there
js
twice around the pond
under a crescent moon
yc
old-time tunes
fill an auditorium
at the State Fair
ht
another neatly printed
job application
pwm
Santas
at each entrance
to the mall
js
more praise
for her handknit mittens
ht
ha
a Navajo
wins the chess tournament
in Kobe
yc
he gets a date
despite the elder aunt
pwm
the tree huggers’
wedding ceremony
30 feet above ground
yc
slip knots
on both bathrobes
js
placing
a photograph
at the cloverleaf junction
ht
Picasso’s bicycle
becomes a bull
pwm
hide and seek
with the moon
in the ruins
yc
“I’ll drink to that”
(exeunt)
ht
early editions
pan actors
and author
pwm
the windows
need cleaning
js
at last
forsythia relieves
this brown expanse
pwm
bits of feather
cling to the nest
ht
Pope John Paul
whispers
Easter Mass
js
are you my
anesthesiologist?
yc
moving the nightstand
to align
their beds
ht
happy to have her
finish his sentence
js
remembrance
of a touch given
without strings
pwm
free passes
at theice rink
yc
it takes diamonds
to polish
the facets of diamonds
pwm
she emulates
her best friend’s accent
ht
tourists
order fortune cookies
after dim sum
yc
little pills
for my heart
js
a cluster
of birch seeds
this moonlilght evening
ht
mountain leaves
start to turn
js
kyu
how cool the mug
before the coffee
is poured
pwm
neighborly conversation
across the fence
yc
a stack of DVDs
to be viewed
at leisure
js
costumed dancers
for the Lunar New Year
yc
children carry
blossoming branches
to class
ht
butterfly antennae
dip then straighten
pwm
Upstate Dim Sum 