Why the Season Matters—Going Deeper


Renku poets gather together to explore the universe, but where will they start? The answer is always the same: here and now. The first verse, the hokku, is anchored in the present place and season.

If you meet in a desert, don't start your renku with an ocean.

If you meet in summer and live in the Northern Hemisphere, don't start with icicles.

Renku poets anchor their poem in the here and how, because renku is a ritual designed to bend hearts and minds toward enligtenment—and the first stoward enlightenment is to open heart and mind to the present moment.


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