About a month and a week ago, I saw four of my haikus published in the blog The Skeptic’s Kaddish. Not long after that, a kind person asked if we would continue this to write a renga together. I had never done a collab before,and so I wanted to try it, and agreed. Soon, David(owner of The Skeptic’s Kaddish) and I took to crafting a hyakuin,which is a renga consisting of 100 tankas. And now,we have succeeded in completing it,which you can read below.

I must say,it has been a very interesting experience,rather,an adventure,writing this renga with him. This is my first collab,and I’m very excited about publishing it.

Working with David,I also learnt a lot,and I hope to do more such collabs with him in the future 🙂

Anyways, I’m proud to present y’all…. Many Waters, a hyakuin by David Bogomolny and Veera(The Forgers of Fantasy).

Many Waters(Tankas 1-10)

Monsoon arriving,
Bringing tragedy and joy,
Both sorrow and glee.
Streets flood into canal routes
Mind floods with uncertainty

The rivers in spate,
Swallowing all in their way,
Showering their wrath.
Nāgas ascend to surface
Soar into the air and dive

Swordfish ascending,
Their hearts singing merrily,
Relishing the storm.
Potamides saddle sturgeons
Riding their rushing rivers

Boats carried away,
Currents tossing them about,
Lie battered by rain.
Truth undulates with algae
Macroinvertebrates buzz

As do tranquil ponds,
Buzzing with tranquil beings,
Yet in immense spate.
Meditation in water
Brings our heart rates down, calming

Feel the cold water,
Attacking with cold fury,
Yet calming your mind.
Sinking into frigid depths
Letting go of mortal coil

Heart freed of harrow,
Hugged genially by cold,
Rinsed clean of troubles.
Cold water cycle spins tale
Created out of whole cloth.

Onlookers watch, shocked,
At nature’s wrath unleashed,
The destruction wrought.
Sirens sing seductively
Smiling smoothly at sailors

Hoping to tumble
Into the land of mermaids,
Or seas of treasure.
Davy Jones’ Locker sparkles,
Beckoning to mortal men

Grindylows await,
Their presence oblivious
To ships steered by greed.
God of ~Elusive Sea Change~
Proteus foretells downfalls

Tankas 11-20:

Thousands thus pursue
The Weed of Eternal Life,
Never to succeed.
Seekers dive through kelp forests
In quest for enchanted roots

Only to perish,
Consumed by dark energies,
Guarding vile secrets.
Deep calls deep through cataracts
Waves and billows sweep away

The undeserving,
Corrupted souls seeking fame,
Black-hearted mortals.
Among golden chalices
Stands the simple Holy Grail*

Guarded for aeons,
Its holy water, if drunk
Grants eternal life.
Monsoon waters swirl within
Like tempest in a goblet**

Sparkling like diamonds,
Reflecting bearer’s image,
And the evil within.
Dorian Gray stares***, aghast
Ghastly evil returns gaze

Clairvoyance channeled,
By chalices, to predict
The future of foes.
Fates foretold by Kassandra^,
Unheeded by feckless fools 

Dire monsoons summoned,
To shower devastation
Upon thoughtless thieves.
Deluge purges wicked Earth;
A lone wooden ark rises^^

Vast vessel of God;
Amidst roaring thunderstorms,
A lone speck of life.
From B 612^^^,
The Little Prince watches Earth

Should wickedness rise,
Sends his destroyer angel,
Yrcom Ylventus.
Immortal Connor MacLeod^^^^
Readies his sword for battle

‘Neath skies black with rage,
Indra smites ruthless demons,
As clouds weep with joy.
Indra decimates Vritra****,
Mankind celebrates sunshine.

Tankas 21-30:

Skies shaded pitch-black,
Diluted soon, with sunlight,
Masterful painting.
Darkness of space swirls, flowing
Inky rivers gleam with stars.

Lightning followed by
The melody of thunder,
Clouds dance to its tune.
I’m carried along at night
By revealing Dream River

Memories relived,
As I lie listening to 
The patter of rain.
Salt tears swirl down shower drain
Opaque steam walls contain me

Rain patterns puddles
That reflect remembrances
Of sorrow and gloom.
Cold blows in through small window
Pushing against foggy heat

Words cannot describe 
The pleasure of harking rain,
Pressed against warm bed.
Syllables pounding ceiling
Verses leaking through plaster

Young poet’s mind drenched.
In a squall of poetry,
Satisfaction rife.
Awakens, bathed in stanzas
Pajamas soaked to the bone

Winds dancing,gleeful;
Atmosphere feeding gloom
To observing souls.
Unheard through wind, spirits howl
Surfacing from River Styx

Typhoeus rises,
Cataclysmic firestorms war
Poseidon’s typhoons.
Echidna calls her children
Olympus swarmed by monsters

All submit at once
When Zeus readies thunderbolts
To punish sinners.
Lightning strikes Maxwell Dillon
Charging Electro with hate.

Thundergod rivalled
By his own creation vile,
Rains carnage, enraged.
Raising Stormbreaker up high,
Thor unleashes destruction

Tankas 31-40:

Battle concluding,
Gods emerging victorious,
Monsoon resuming.
Whirlpool swirls furiously
Charybdis engulfs islands.

Hercules summoned,
Sails on treacherous waters,
Ready for battle.
Odysseus takes umbrage:
This voyage is mine, Hero!

Battles fought o’er fame,
While awaits terrible strife,
A hungry Scylla.
Philoctetes sounds alarm
Poisonous arrows readied.

Angry waters swirl,
Greeted by raging whirlpools,
The Dutchman rises.
Vanderdecken’s hopeless eyes
See salvation sink away

Undying pirates
Fight fearless warriors,
Seas painted crimson.
Zeus sends torrential blood rain
Portends slaughter in battle.

Thousands thereafter
Lie lifeless in lands witness
To endless bloodshed.
Pyres across the countrysides
Ashes light on rolling waves.

Muffled sounds echo
Misery of civilians
Mourning the martyred. 
Myriads of young mothers
Moan at pointless misfortune.

Try drowning sorrows
In alcoholic waters,
Forget painful loss.
Women, soaking, lose themselves
Bacchanalia ensues

Paying with their lives
Having heinously transgressed,
Drunkards shuddering.
Child soldiers forced to enlist
While parents lie in gutters.

Evil recruiters
Punished by the Thundergod,
Little ones rejoice.
Global warming ends the joy
Single cell organisms thrive.

Tankas 41-50:

Monera evolves,
Unicellular protists
Zoophagous result.
Comes Cambrian Explosion
Simple sponges evolving

Multicellular,
Complex cellular system,
The first of its kind.
Trilobites diversify
Ichthyosaurs swim the deeps

Age of dinosaurs
Concludes as soon as arrived,
Humankind is born.
Homosapiens flourish
Neanderthals go extinct

Old Stone Age begins.
Hunter-gatherers prosper,
Stone tools invented.
Megafauna roam the snow
Petroglyphs depict the hunt

Huge milestones occur,
Polished stone tools developed,
Mark birth of new age.
Anvils, cores, and flakes preserved…
Artifacts at Lomekwi.

Copper creations,
Enter Chalcolithic age,
Throve beyond measure.
Farming culture develops
Irrigated fields provide.

Age of iron dawns
Supremacy of stone dusks,
Era of great change.
Water rushes underground
Tunnels and shafts grant access.

From caves to cabins,
Walking miles to riding carts,
Innovation starts.
Hephaestus forges armor
Daedalus crafts great shield

Fire flickers within
Forges forging metalwork,
Weapons meant for Gods.
Fire of house hearth impregnates
Virgins birth both Gods and kings

Mouthwatering feast
Commemorates Cacus’ birth
And mysteries untold.
Demonic centaur guards thieves
Fiery dragon perched atop.

Tankas 51-60:

Steals sheep with Caca,
Betrayed to Hercules’ rage,
Meets macabre fate.
Calydonian king pleads –
Acheloüs has my child!

Poseidon councils,
Thy children be sacrificed
For the greater good!
Unwitting Deianira
Poisons her hero husband

Mewling tears thus,
Moved by River Achelous
Drowning woes in death.
Alice swims in sea of tears
Dodo convenes Caucus-Race

Cheshire cat sniggers,
Hatter reveals her purpose,
Slay Jabberwocky.
Bandersnatch shifts allegiance
Gifts heroine Vorpal Sword

Pet dragon bares fangs,
Engulfs battlefield in fire,
As red queen wars whites.
Massive feathers pound the air
JubJub bird swoops in to kill

Reign of Evil ends;
Alice slays Jabberwocky,
Destiny fulfilled
Wonderland dream melts away
Awakens to kitten drool

Gushing on white floor,
Like raging waterfalls gush
On racing rivers.
Pocahontas steers canoe
Right over the waterfall

Staring,from above,
Water gushing in torrents
From ancient skull’s face.
Tiger Lily abducted,
Ferried by Smee to Skull Rock

Jack Sparrow awaits,
Davy Jones demands exchange,
The kid, for his life.
Charley Ross held for ransom,
Never to be seen again

Arrives the Black Pearl,
Barbossa’s undead crew wars
The Flying Dutchman.
Vengeful sea witch Ursula
Pulls both ships Under the Sea.

Tankas 61-70

Famished Kraken roars,
Devouring both ship and witch,
Dozes off,content.
Silent as fog, Nessie glides,
Lunges, rips out Kraken’s throat

Giant squid pounces
To share a delicacy;
Quarrels for a slice.
Leviathan roused from sleep
Seas billowing in his wake

Maelrawn awakened,
Whirlpools attack armadas,
Swallowing ships whole.
Prodigious claws; narrow wings;
Cthulhu’s feelers surface.

Animals abscond,
Dolphins forage for cover
As sea battles land.
Selkies, worried, don seal skins
Abandon human children

Abyssal demons
Summoned by Diabolos;
Vanquish wicked fiends.
White Aura dolphins and whales
Drag darkness to ocean floor

Forgotten realms scoured,
Myriads of malice wake;
Maelstrom ravages seas.
Moses waves hand over sea;
East wind divides the waters.

Dragons chuckle,perched
Atop Shipwreck Cove, clocking
Bickering pirates.
Israelites reach Sinai
Reed Sea crushes vile monsters

Sweet sepsis signalled,
Noxious venoms escape
Harbinger of Plagues.
Poisonous rains destroy crops
Rotting fish float in rivers

Yamuna tainted
With venom of Kaliya,
River reeks of death.
Robin Hood and Merida
Let loose poison tipped arrows

Piercing not skin
Of villainous venomer,
Bane to blameless beings.
Doc Brown arrives to change past;
Mad scientist saves future!

Tankas 71-80:

Skynet assumes charge,
The Resistance takes up arms,
Mankind fights machines.
Terminators chase humans
Feet splash through muddy puddles

Sarah Connor told,
We shall secure salvation,
Lead by John Connor.
Machines prove inefficient
Ultron usurps full control.

Vision given life,
Maximoffs change allegiance,
Avengers advance.
Unable to recompile
Ultron obliterated.

Whose fragments summoned
By Magneto,to create
Machines of murder.
Dr. Strange opens portal
Teleports villains away.

Ghost Rider awaits
Souls stained with innocents’ blood,
Beyond Veil of Doom.
Molten rivers melt evils
Turbulent waters settle.

Ganga gathers tears
Shed by spirits suffering,
Grasped by Grim Reaper.
Sacred river brings moksha
Ashes of the dead immersed.

Deceased spirits start
Tiring trip towards heaven,
Obstacles await.
All three worlds flow together
Swarga; Prithvi; Patala.

Parted by Titans;
Atlas punished by Gaea,
Hove earth on shoulders.
Galt gathers business leaders;
Individualists strike.

Waterfall of wads
Represses workers’ revolts,
Communism croaks.
“All animals are equal”
~ Some more equal than others.

Communism rises
Rife in seekers of revenge,
Rebels war tycoons.
Long lines form for bread and shoes
People receive wrong sizes.

Tankas 81-90:

Turmoil triumphs
O’er desperate government,
Conquered by crises.
Chaos; poverty; disease
Society in ruins.

Citizens clamour
For downfall of despotism,
Bastille beleaguered.
Revolutionaries storm
A young Javert bears witness,

Drowning truth in death;
Carried by river crooning;
“La Marseillaise est…”
~ Morality belies law
Rabid righteousness dissolves.

France free of shackles,
Yet a vessel perched atop
Turbulent waters.
Grande Armée, crosses Neman
Napoleon’s march halted.

Troubled by typhus,
Starving,skeletal,sickly
Soldiers force retreat.
Waterborne diseases spread
Bloated corpses float downstream

Waterfall warbles
Songs bespeaking the sorrow
Felt by family.
Rudolf Stefan Jan Weigl
Develops vaccine and saves Jews.

White buses hasten;
Jews delivered from danger,
Ferried to safety.
Nazi criminals escape
Overseas to warmer climes.

Starcrossed flotillas
Enter Devil’s Triangle,
Salazar awaits.
Gold City of Atlantis
Lost to paranormal force.

Desperate to live,
Hunts,helped by mythical maps,
The Fountain of Youth.
Atlantisian submarines
Patrol undersea frontiers.

Guarding ghastly threats
Within Prison of Pestilence,
Perpetual plagues.
Scientists of Atlantis
Vaccinate the populace.

Tankas 91-100:

Yet failed to foresee
Monstrous maelstrom evolving,
Atlantis thus sank.
The pure prayers of Kitezh
Bring salvation through water.

Rituals performed,
Summoned Janai’ngo protects
R’lyeh from Hydra.
Cyclopean masonry
Discovered by Johansen.

Explorers wander
Through treacherous labyrinths
In quest for moonstones.
Sacred, magical ‘dream stones’
Of moon’s ethereal light.

Forest of diamonds
Fulgurating like fluorite
Attract Von Humboldt.
Faith based on Man’s dignity
Religiously tolerant.

Flowing in one’s mind,
Crystal waters reflecting
Secular beliefs.
Meaningless boundaries melt
Xenophobia dissolves.

Age of empires ends,
Demand for democracy
Dictators’ downfall.
Technology advances
Greenhouse emissions reduced.

Scientists explore
Renewable resources,
Fossil fuels conserved.
Water purification
Plants cleanse rivers and oceans.

Marine mammals thrive,
Fishes swim about freely,
Undisturbed by man.
Sisudatu’s dragon kin
Bring healing rains from heaven.

Washing over land
Mortified by maladies,
Elixir of life.
Water dragons dance on rain
Showers cleanse our lands and hearts.

Little drops gather
To form a racing river,
Racing through forest.
Waterways swell with promise
Many waters buoy love.

-The Forgers of Fantasy
-David Bogomolny(The Skeptic’s Kaddish)

*This is a reference to the old movie – ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade’ – if you
haven’t seen the original Indiana Jones movies, you really should! If you need an
explanation of the “goblet” scene, let me know. You can find it here on YouTube.

**A reference to the phrase “tempest in a teapot” or “tempest in a teacup”

***A reference to the famous book (and now a movie too): Dorian Gray

^Cassandra – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassandra

^^https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genesis_flood_narrative

^^^The Little Prince (a classic book) – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Little_Prince

B 612 – the name of the asteroid, which the Little Prince lived on.

^^^^From the movie Highlander: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highlander_(film)

****https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vritra

River Styx- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Styx

Typhoeus- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhon

Echidna- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echidna_(mythology)

Maxwell Dillon- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electro_(Marvel_Comics)\

Charybdis- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charybdis\

Odysseus- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odysseus

Philoctetes- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philoctetes

Vanderdecken- https://onepiece.fandom.com/wiki/Vander_Decken_IX

Cambrian explosion- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambrian_explosion

Trilobites- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trilobite

Ichthyosaurs- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ichthyosaur

Megafauna- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megafauna

Petroglyphs- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroglyph

Lomekwi- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lomekwi

Hephaestus- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hephaestus

Daedalus- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daedalus

Cacus- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cacus

Caca- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caca_(mythology)

Achelous- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achelous

Deianira- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deianira

Sea of Tears- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice%27s_Adventures_in_Wonderland (refer chapter 2-the pool of tears)

Caucus Race- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice%27s_Adventures_in_Wonderland (refer chapter 3.)

Cheshire cat- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheshire_Cat

Hatter-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatter_(Alice%27s_Adventures_in_Wonderland)

Jabberwocky- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jabberwocky

Bandersnatch- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandersnatch

JubJub bird- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jubjub_bird

Pocahontas- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pocahontas_(1995_film)

Tiger Lily, Smee- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Pan_(2003_film)

Charley Ross- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charley_Ross

Jack Sparrow,Barbossa- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirates_of_the_Caribbean:_The_Curse_of_the_Black_Pearl

Kraken- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kraken

Nessie- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loch_Ness_Monster

Giant Squid- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_squid

Leviathan- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leviathan

Cthulhu- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cthulhu

Selkies- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selkie

Diabolos- https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Diabolos

Shipwreck Cove- https://pirates.fandom.com/wiki/Shipwreck_Cove

Sinai- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Sinai

Kailya- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaliya

Merida- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merida_(Brave)

Doc Brown- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmett_Brown

Skynet,Sarah Connor,John Connor- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terminator_(franchise)

Ultron,Maximoffs,Vision- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avengers:_Age_of_Ultron

Magneto- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magneto_(Marvel_Comics)

Dr.Strange- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Strange

Ghost Rider- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_Rider

Moksha- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moksha

Titans- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titans

Atlas- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlas_(mythology)

Gaea- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaia

Galt- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Galt

“All animals are equal,some more equal than others”- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_Farm (it’s is how the pig characters in the book justify ruling over the rest of the animals, despite the original concept that all the animals should have an equal stake (privileges and responsibilities) in running the farm.)

Javert- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Javert

Grande Armee- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grande_Arm%C3%A9e

Rudolf Stefan Jan Weigl- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_Weigl (he also helped rescue Jews during the Holocaust)

White buses- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Buses

Atlantis- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis

Kitezh- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitezh

Janai’ngo- https://lovecraft.fandom.com/wiki/Janai%27ngo#:~:text=Janai%27ngo%20is%20a%20crustacean,coast%20of%20the%20United%20States.

R’lyeh- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%27lyeh

Hydra- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lernaean_Hydra

Cyclopean masonry- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclopean_masonry

Johansen- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%27lyeh#Description

Moonstone- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonstone_(gemstone)
https://www.americangemsociety.org/the-folklore-of-moonstone/#:~:text=Hindu%20mythology%20also%20told%20that,have%20clear%20visions%20and%20prophecies .

Von Humboldt- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_von_Humboldt

Sisudatu- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisu_(Raya_and_the_Last_Dragon)

As told in the previous post, the text in italics has been penned by me and that in bold by David.

Hyakuin:
A hyakuin is a renga consisting of 100 tankas.

To visit David’s website, you can refer The skeptic’s kaddish .

For more such poems, you can refer The Forgers of Fantasy