We Are Not Alone: Renhai No. 295

by Neal Whitman (nw) & John Daleiden (jd)

sing ye noel—
carolers at my front door
on Christmas Eve       /jd

starling murmuration—       /nw
gathering at the hibachi       /jd

my five-star kalbi
sizzling over red hot coals
a midnight repast       /nw

in Renhai Studio

Archive Id: 295
Neal Whitman: USA
John Daleiden: USA
Written: November 29, 2011

Theme: Gatherings
Season: Winter
Kigo: Small brazier (hibachi, all winter)
Verse Form: Free
Process: Forward (2A/2B; 1; 3)

Links 1/2: carolers / murmuration, hibachi: each of these activities is focused on a gathering.

Links 2/3: hibachi / kalbi, coals, repast: the hibachi or grill, holds red hot coals to prepare the kalbi recipe for a meal.

murmuration, gathering / repast: birds and people — social animals who communicate with their "own kind" at verbal and non-verbal levels.

Links 3/1: repast / carol(ing) — two events in which individuals participate as a group activity — eating and singing; a common dimension of the two activities is the act of sharing.

Notes: Murmuration is a flock of starlings when they mid-air morph into wave-shapes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hibachi. A video link: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/11/starling-flock/.

The hibachi ("fire bowl") is a traditional Japanese heating device. It consists of a round, cylindrical or a box-shaped open-topped container, made from or lined with a heatproof material and designed to hold burning charcoal. In North America, the term "hibachi" is used to refer to a small cooking stove heated by charcoal (actually called shichirin in Japanese), or to an iron hot plate (teppan) used inteppanyaki restaurants... around which many people (often multiple parties) can sit and eat at once. The chef performs the cooking in front of the diners, typically with theatrical flair — such as lighting a volcano-shaped stack of raw onion hoops on fire: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hibachi

Galbi or kalbi generally refers to a variety of gui or grilled dishes in Korean cuisine that is made with marinated beef (or pork) short ribs in a ganjang-based sauce (Korean soy sauce) — a traditional Korean BBQ short rib recipe: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galbi

Repast: 1: something taken as food; meal 2: the act or time of taking food; a meal often served late and to a small group of guests.

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