Renga poetry came to Teignmouth - the results

At the TRAIL 2012 festival in Teignmouth (August through to September), I asked members of the public to contribute to a Renga poem - a work to celebrate the seasons.

The following is the result.

TRAIL 2012: Trailing Poetry
(A Renga Sequence for Teignmouth)

– with thanks to:
Stu McClure, Anne G, Gill G, Don P, Roger Smith, Jan Sapiano, Jo Slater, Tom Farrimond, Petra Turner, Jane J, Bob Hill – and Anon

Mist, soon gone
and jackdaws now sharply seen;
their preening heralds brightness

Bright shine, shoes and mirrors.
Reflections of mind in mist
Who can you see? Is it yourself?

Water – bursting from a cloud
Turning the brook a raging torrent
Sweeping away the wall
Noah's flood
Drowning the hens
In Ideford Combe

Hens, floods, memories, childhood nightmares
A Bantam cockerel's territorial charge
Chasing, squawking, pecking – no eggs today.

Too many cockerels, too much froth
Kind of my aunt to think of me
My fault for having a house called Cockhaven
Which is nothing to do with cockerels
Just means the dry side of the marsh

Elements… elements of Nature, of Mother Earth,
Of all & everything.
Earth, Air, Fire, Water & Spirit… But
Water, maybe a little less enthusiasm
During the summer hols?

Splash, splash… all change
Sizzle, steam all change
Umbrellas up, umbrellas down
Summer's merry go round.

Front door forced open,
Flood waters swirl inside
Bearing life and death.
In retreat, they leave presents:
Drowned hens, a boot, smothered dreams.

The season is turning faster than the clock.
The sun's setting & dusk's arrival surprises.
Within days the house martins will leave.

Summer fades leaving memories
Hot summer days, bronzed bodies on the shore
A summer love that fades as well.
Winter will be long this year.

A child standing alone at the edge of the sea,
Feeling the elements around her,
Water on her legs, heat of the sun on her face,
A soft breeze through her hair, wet sand through her toes.
Content within herself and with her world.

Tantrums on the beach, tears on the Ferris Wheel
A circle of love created by the sisters.
Precious memories, laughter, life, love.

Away from home, expectations high
Relentless rain dampens the soul
Unexpected sun dries the tears
And fills the memory with castles and blue skies

Sun-dried tomato specks
Salted cod peace
Orange crush
Olive (black)
Rice bowl

Wondrous orb, where were you all summer?

Blue sky, blue sea,
A delight to be me!

The child is, the child remembers remembering

And it came that a sun rose later,
& there was the silence after the house martins' departure;
and there was a rain – heavier, damper, more intense.