A Japanese proverb says: Doki ai motomu (Like minds are drawn to one another).
This is similar to the English proverb: Birds of a feather flock together. Indeed, human beings with similar tastes or interests tend to come together in groups.
An exquisite essence of this human tendency blooms in the garden of renga (linked verse). This Japanese verse form represents the culmination of a collaborative art form, which stimulates me to examine several characteristic phases of renga.