Books

Burn them, they said in frenzy/they said about books
condemning ink and paper/ that ignite the soul
memories cannot be abolished or shredded/ nor let one sleep
Tyrants fear writers/ so praise the written word
history is not a set of books/ it is a way of life illuminating hearth and heart.

Written for Sadje’s wdys and for dVerse MTB. Today’s host, Laura has invited us to play with opposites, cleaving them in fact.
Fun Fact: Cleave is a contranym, a word with 2 opposite meanings: i) split or sever. ii) become strongly involved with or emotionally attached to.

Thus we are taking an opposing word pair as theme prompt and writing two distinct poems, which then combine as one larger composition i.e. whilst they are distinct the 2 poems also should converse/relate  with/to each other

A.  Choose ONE of these paired opposites for your two poem’s theme whilst also including the chosen word somewhere in the body of each poem

• admit – deny;
• amuse – bore;
• beg – offer;
• condemn – praise;
• fix – break;
• mix – sort;
• scatter – collect;

B. And with your chosen antonym pair, write your poem(s) in ONE of these poetry forms:

1. THE CONTRAPUNTAL – 2 poems that are distinct from one another but together can be read as one poem. They can be adjacent columns or  fit alternately (italicised , boldened, indented to distinguish one from another  if desired)

• THE CLEAVE  –so  similar to the above  to be almost indistinguishable – I’ve seen it defined as 3 poems but ‘the inventor’ only states 2!  Seems the poems blend together across each line to make one poem.
• The REVERSO – two poems in one with the 2^nd one being read from the bottom to the top.

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My space

Pic courtesy The Conversation

Surrounded by swirling snarls and sounds,
with cacophonous chaos clicking around
the humming, the thrumming, the buzzing and the bustling
recede into nothingness with pages unfurling

In the throbbing omphalos I sit with a book, budhha-like
drinking delicious words with my eyes
finding my cosy space, losing myself in the maze
and I am at home, at any location or any place.

Written for dVerse poetics. Today’s host, Ingrid, has asked us to write about inspiring places or spaces.

The first brush

He opened the book with a sharp intake of breath
from picture books he was now graduating
to the fascinating world of written words

his eyes grew large in wonderment
as the higgledy-piggledy hieroglyphics
were finally beginning to make some sense!

he dived right in, ablaze with excitement
his eyes all goggled, his young mind boggled
as the word-adventures began to unfurl!

he rolled his tongue around every groovy morsel of words
he read aloud words captivated by their sound
he mumbled the long words under his breath

the first brush with reading took him to worlds unexplored
these days he knows not his own whereabouts;
whether he is inside a book or a book inside him!

Written for Sadje’s wdys, David’s W3 and Eugi’s weekly prompt.

Beyond books ( Prosery)

Looking at the young, fresh faces she felt a rush of enthusiasm. Teaching was not the occupation of her choice, but her love for literature and the challenge of teaching troubled teenagers had made it her vocation. In the quest to become a better teacher, she had become a learner again. She opened the book, glanced at their disinterested faces, then put it away.

“Come on, everyone! Let’s go out to the playground. And bring no book, for this one day we’ll give to idleness.”

They looked at her in surprise. One smart alec at the back remarked sotto voce, “I am sure she is quoting a poet or an author!” 

As the backbenchers sniggered, the young teacher’s mocking voice rose over the hubbub.

” Can you identify the poet?”

The class erupted in laughter. She was relieved to sense a thawing in their response.

Written for dVerse. Today’s host, Ingrid, says: Use the line “And bring no book, for this one day we’ll give to idleness.” from  Wordsworth’s ‘Lines Written at a small distance from my House…’ in a piece of Prosery. The rule is that Prosery should be no more than 144 words, excluding the title.