Kasen Renku

A kasen renku is a form of renga, or poem written by multiple people.
It is a poem of thirty six verses, each linked to the verse ahead and behind it in some manner. It is important (to avoid inane boring drivel) that while the verses are linked, each one be shifted some how. (If we are going to have drivel, let it be interesting drivel.) The only verse that must be immediate and clear like a haiku is the first one. the rest are fine sketchy, emotive of their theme without having to encapsulate it completely. I want to stress that the connection, the comonality between one verse and the next can be very indirect. Traditionally the seasons enter into the poem some how with spring and autum recieving 3 to five verses each and summer and winter recieving one to three each, but that is not set in stone, and it can be by the vaguest allusion. There are also traditioally verses including the moon (verses 5, 13, and 29) a blossom or flower (links 17 and 35), love (especially the absense of a companion, in small groups of verses) somewhere in between verses 7-18 and 19-30. Oh, one verse is traditionally about the autumn moon as well.
This is not to say that even if I were writing alone, I'd bother with all of this stuff, but at the least it is here as an idea. I'd like to do this here with anyone who wants to. If you aren't a live journal memeber and you want to be part of this, please sign your verses with at least your initials, and e-mail me with your name if needed. voiceofthepeople@hotmail.com. Traditionally, someone other than the host is supposed to start this thing with a 3 line haiku like verse (they predate haiku and are actually the source of the haiku format) which is replied to by the host. I'll give people 24 hours to get a first post up (remember, short long short, and 5-7-5 if you must, alternated by long long (7-7) is the pattern. Who ever posts first gets their verse and whoever wants to can reply to it, though I claim verse two (or if this doesn't happen, I claim verse one tomorrow.) I'll occasionally move the entire poem up my journal as a new post. Oh, they are also traditionally broken into three/four parts (6 verses 12/12 verses, then 6 last verses.)
Here's the first six lines of a contemporary renku taken from Bruce Ross' How to Haiku :

1
wet brown leaves
trampled on the boradwalk js
Seattle morning

2
mallards on the autumn pond br
so loud beyond the rushes

3
he turns down the radio
then carves a frown rk
into the pumpkin

4
a wedge of geese
slices the sunset jw

5
pizza shop
off the moonlit interstate tc
break from drifting snow

6
spare pillows piled up de
on the bedside chair

actually, if you want to do this, let's start it in a new post. I'll post it above