Valeria Simonova-Cecon, Julia Shoda, Svetlana Kiolo & Veronica Ikonnikova

A junicho renku in Russian and English
English translation by Valeria Simonova-Cecon

Stone Faces

 

на каменных лицах
первые блики рассвета --
осенняя тишь /Валерия

собрание маленьких дзидзо
на семейном алтаре /Юлия

городской сумасшедший
подслушивает
их планы /Светлана

что же, ну что же они
в этот рамен кладут? /Валерия

пахнет так сладко
срезанный утром пион
но двадцать монет?! /Вероника

ничтожная плата за встречу
с экзотичной красоткой /Юлия

скандалы, интриги,
разводы, любовь --
выбрасываю журнал /Вероника

глянцевый полдень
собака в тени каштана /Светлана

у колодца зеваки --
на горизонте клубится
серая дымка /Юлия

высокие гости
надменно глядят /Вероника

кровь на снегу --
для тебя, князь, эта луна
оказалась последней! /Светлана

на изгиб крыши
опускается стая /Валерия


on the stone faces
first patches of light --
autumn silence

a meeting of small jizo
at the family altar

the town’s madman
eavesdropping
on their plans

what the hell do they put
in this ramen?

such a sweet smell
from the freshly cut peony...
but twenty coins?!

just a tiny fee for a date
with an exotic beauty

rows, gossip,
divorces, love-affairs --
I throw the magazine away

bright midday
a dog in the chestnut shade

idlers by the well --
a gray dust is swirling
on the horizon

the VIP guests
look haughtily

blood in the snow --
for you, prince, this moon
was the last one

a flock of birds alight
on the bend of a roof

 

Participants:
Valeria Simonova-Cecon (lead poet), verses: 1, 4, 12
Julia Shoda, verses: 2, 6, 9
Svetlana Kiolo, verses: 3, 8, 11
Veronica Ikonnikova, verses: 5, 7, 10
Composed 27 November – 3 December 2009.

 

Valeria Simonova-Cecon is a Russian poet. She lives a very peaceful and simple life in north-eastern Italy, from whose natural beauty she finds her inspiration.

Julia Shoda was born in Kiev, Ukraine, and graduated from university with a diploma in philology and in Japanese and English translation. She has been greatly influenced by her two visits to Japan. Her interests include languages, literature, esotericism and creative design.

Veronica Ikonnikova lives in Ramenskoye in the Moscow region and works at a medical publishing house. She finds writing renku interesting because it offers a laconic way of expressing vivid images: in a sequence of very short verses you can see several stories, different yet coherent and harmonious, with every author sharing his/her own view with the others.

Svetlana Kiolo lives in Voronezh, Russia, working in the technical department of the local newspaper. She is attracted by the diversity and richness of renku, its constant change of imagery and mood. It allows her to look at the world from different perspectives and to collaborate with others in writing poetry.