Reader Renga Poems

A few weeks back I suggested that readers could use the renga form to write their own individual poems, even though the renga was begun as a collaborative verse form in Japan. I had several memorable responses to that blogpost and I'm featuring them today.



(KAREN HOLMES)

Mist rises from the lake
like a mystery
in front of me.

mountains disappear
mystically.

in fog or clouds, not sure which …
now the sun shines them
from obscurity.

---Karen Holmes

Karen brings 26 years experience in marketing and corporate communications, most recently in the corporate world as Vice President of Communications at ING. In 2000, she began her own writing and consulting business, WriteSource, which she renamed "Simply Communicated" in 2007. She now serves on the board of Netwest in WNC and helps to enliven and enrich our NC literary community. You can see from the above the poetic voice she brings to her own work.
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(MINDY EVANS)


Deep clouds hover
Over mountaintops.
Full moon, lost.

I miss your anxious lips,
Your eyes.

Dim lit world,
A cool darkness
Settles in my bones.

----------Mindy Evans

My first taste of poetry came from an ancient, crumbling hymnal. I learned quickly the beauty of words and their power to invoke emotion.. I wrote my first poem at the age of sixteen and when I was in love. Luckily, the object of my affection wasn¢t permanent but my love for poetry grew. I attended UNC-Charlotte and majored in English. I was fortunate enough to take poetry writing classes from Dr. Robert Grey and Lucinda Grey, both equally wonderful teachers and poets. I am currently employed at my local library where I moderate two book discussion groups amongst many other responsibilities. A North Carolina native, I reside in Marion, NC.

My poems are inspired by nature and the complexities of being human. I am deeply inspired by the work of many poets. And, if all else fails, I find inspiration from a walk along a light streaked sidewalk. My work has been published in Western North Carolina Woman Magazine out of Asheville, NC.
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(JAMES HOGAN)


The boy at the altar
received blessings
from the church.

He leaves tomorrow
for war.

Tomorrow he rides
open waves,
blown by God's breath



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It's junior high, it's going off to war, but here is another image I've been getting from biblical inspiration. Yesterday's homily focused on how the original Hebrew of Genesis could be reinterpreted into today's language, and the line that struck me most was how the wind over the ocean was God's breath, how God breathed life into the waters.

That image took me to an old country church I'd once been to, where the only 18 year old boy in the congregation was being prayed over by the church elders as he prepared to leave for Iraq. It was breathtaking in so many ways.

So, still in the pew, I started fusing those images, and thank goodness you had a little poetry assignment for me this morning. I needed to start letting that out. I'm hoping there's still room to work more...

-----James Hogan

James Hogan is a 2003 graduate of The Honors College at Western Carolina University, where he majored in English Education. While at Western, he was a member of the Pride of the Mountains Marching Band and the Creative Writers Guild, and he worked in the University Writing Center. James taught high school English in North and South Carolina for five years before joining the Annual Fund staff at Davidson College in February 2008. As the Gifts Officer, James is responsible for working with reunion year giving as well as visiting alumni from all graduating classes. He and his wife, Kelly, reside in Statesville.


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(NANCY POSEY)

Mother of the bride
waits alone in her front seat,
tissue in her sleeve.

She sits all alone,
stands at her cue to look back,
and catches her breath:

The two she loves most
walk arm-in-arm down the aisle,
their smiles glazed by tears.

Nancy Posey (discriminatingreader.blogspot.com) is a former English teacher, a great friend to writers in this state, and a fabulous reader of their work. Visit her blog!