FEASTING ON MUSHROOMS

Wind shakes the trees
leaves hang on for now
the passing train

__slugs feast on toadstools
__but leave the children’s wishes

sound asleep
a tiger’s face
glows in the dark

__earth turns
__a worm wriggles

with silken moves
dancers merengue
through the night

__greenfly don’t affect
__the taste of the beer

where he goes on holiday
determined
by his bottle top collection

__Cathkin Braes getting higher
__as vultures disgorge waste

from picking over
the bones of the past
we start afresh

__yes –
__but first brush your teeth

Saturday morning
weekend fathers
spend time with the kids

__at the theme park
__a moorhen nests on the volcano

see that hothouse
we can grow everything there
except maybe the moon

__freezer fruits
__brighten a baked rice pudding

listen to the howl
of thon wind
through the catflap

__learning the violin
__a solitary occupation

sound of the port city
heard by dolphins
through spinning propellors

__sunsets turn back towards Mull
__as the days lengthen

in celebration
the girl pins a sprig of rosemary
to her hair

__to get a better view a lamb
__stands on its mother's back.

a nijuuin renga in Autumn
the hidden gardens, Glasgow
11 September, 2004

Participants

Ken Cockburn (master)
Colin Will (host)
Anne-Marie Culhane (co-ordinator)
Norrie Bissell
Richard Broadhurst
Irene Brown
Dominic Boyle
Colin Clark
Lesley Stirton