Carpe Diem #1519 Junicho, the twelve stanza renga (Soliloquy No Renga)

 Junicho (june-ee-cho) is a renku with 12 verses.  Winter (one), summer (one), spring (two), autumn (two) – with no set seasonal progression – and non-season (six). Junicho also have a single blossom stanza and a single moon stanza (any season for both). “Love” is represented by a pair or so of stanzas, in any position. A traditional Junicho opens with the season in which its composition takes place,

autumn tears fall
swirling in a colorful dance
pessimism grows

distant woodpeckers thrum
reverberated in my head

summer dreams fade
only thorns remain
against the grey sky

bite of winter
not warmed by the moon

signs of spring
crocus popping from the snow
hope renewed

loves first blush
walk through the park

birdsong fills air
warm breeze tickles
new leaves

crack in the sidewalk
deepens the divide

town clock chimes
filling the silence
between autumn rains

traffic snakes slowly
away from the city

lifetime of memories
our relationship ebbs and flows
age without wisdom

we share smiles and coffee
going our separate ways

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