Tan-renga by Christina Chin & Paul Callus

Christina Chin

creaking

by the swollen brook

snow melting

the unreliability

of false euphoria

Christina Chin (Malaysia) / Paul Callus (Malta)

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treading

carefully on thin ice

our forest walk

success achieved

in small doses

Christina Chin (Malaysia) / Paul Callus (Malta)

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Paul Callus

silent film

in the background

improvised music

a dubbed pianist

in the theatre orchestra

Paul Callus (Malta) / Christina Chin (Malaysia) 

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tole lamp

hand-crafted

vintage charm

a piece of me

left yearning

Paul Callus (Malta) / Christina Chin (Malaysia) 

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preserving

my garden fragrances

in a jar

Mediterranean magic

my hand in his

Paul Callus (Malta) / Christina Chin (Malaysia)

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BIO: Christina Chin is a painter and haiku poet from Malaysia. She is a four-time recipient of top 100 in the mDAC Summit Contests, exhibited at the Palo Alto Art Center, California. 1st prize winner of the 34th Annual Cherry Blossom Sakura Festival 2020 Haiku Contest. 1st prize winner in the 8th Setouchi Matsuyama 2019 Photohaiku Contest. She has been published in numerous journals, multilingual journals, and anthologies, including Japan's prestigious monthly Haikukai Magazine.

BIO: Paul Callus is a retired teacher who lives in Malta, Europe. He has been active in the literary field for around 50 years. He writes poetry, short stories, and lyrics for songs, mostly in English, Maltese, and Italian. His work has been published in various anthologies, journals and online sites, and he is an active member in several international poetry groups. He is also a translator and proofreader.

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Setu, April 2025