This poem, called a Renga, was written by Susan, Grace, Marcia and Geoff, of the Shirlington Poetry Workshop:

Who would imagine
Fresh snow on cherry blossoms
Winter’s chill clings on

Brings questions to the mind
and stories of past times

Your words imbued with frost
Breath clouding over your hands
Saying grace outside

Prayers spread their wings
Fly upward to trembling trees
As blossoms fall with each breath

But your words stay cold
and hang in the air like mist
Blossoms peer through snow

The Renga is a Japanese style of theme-focused poetry, in which writers take turns writing stanzas. Originally, the first stanza was three lines long with a total of seventeen syllables and the second stanza a couplet with seven syllables per line, and the pattern repeated. Contemporary poets have eased these rules, allowing writers to adjust the line lengths (as they do here).

Want to try your hand at writing poetry, or meet other local poets? Check out the Shirlington Poetry Workshop, the 4th Monday of each month, at the Shirlington Branch Library. The next meeting will be Monday, April 25, at 6:30 p.m.