Being with self

Silence drowned by brash noise and sound
when mind wallows in shallows of din
’tis best then to retreat within

in nature’s lap inner peace I found
gentle murmur of rustling leaves
birdsong a soothing refrain weaves

quietude; nothingness around
breathe deep, relax, calm your senses
let go of all mental fences

gratitude and deep bliss abound
no intrigue, no suspense; just calm
accepting flaws without a qualm

being alone, a feeling profound
solitude is the place to be
when I am in touch with just me.

Silence drowned by brash noise and sound
in nature’s lap inner peace I found
quietude; nothingness around
gratitude and deep bliss abound
being alone, a feeling profound!

Written for dVerse MTB. Today’s host, Björn has asked us to write a Constanza.

Maia

Lily of the valley

Blooms dance
waving their arms
embracing the sunshine
no care in the world to stop them
it seems

it seems
all they do is
unfurl their prettiness
their struggle to survive remains
unseen

unseen
toiling hard roots
working behind the scenes
silently strengthening network
of dreams

of dreams,
realities
tangled in a mess
still life stops not, moves constantly,
ceaseless

ceaseless
movement may not
be true living. Sometimes
living is to make others smile;
blooms dance.

Written for dVerse MTB. Today’s host, Laura, says : given today’s double whammy of the 5th of the fifth month, our challenge today will be:

Either the cinq-cinquain,

a series of 5 [entire] Crapsey Cinquains, 25 lines total

syllabic count: 2-4-6-8-2 in each stanza

written with or without breaks between stanzas

 OR the cinquain chain/crown cinquain.

a series of 5 [entire] Crapsey Cinquains, 25 lines total

syllabic count: 2-4-6-8-2 in each stanza

written with a break between each stanza

last line of the previous cinquain repeated as first line of the next cinquain

Note: The final line of the last cinquain does not have to equal the first line of the first cinquain, but it is an option.

Two poems for two prompts (dVerse/NaPoWriMo)

Riddle me not! (dVerse)

Two sisters and a baby, shabbily
separated from their dear family
descend willy-nilly from cooler climes
going through harrowing times
becoming warm comforters or cool companions
equally at home in a castle or under the banyans
all weather friends, always game
versatility is their second name.

Written for dVerse MTB. Today’s host, Björn, says: write a poem that is a riddle, using personification for abstract or innate objects.

Words (NaPoWriMo)

Enough of your evasive, edgy, errant words

you think I can’t fathom how you use words

to camouflage and cover chasm caused by words

your father’s harsh, hostile and hurting words

they are no salve; your mom’s half-hearted words

you may try to make light with light-hearted words

but I can see the laceration caused by words

caustic, nasty, abusing and accusing words

just sit quietly and utter no words

let wordless-ness take away the pain caused by words

when proverbial silence speaks louder than words

then no words are required to heal wounds given by words.

In honor of today’s being the 22nd day of Na/GloPoWriMo 2022, I’d like to challenge you to write a poem that uses repetition. You can repeat a sound, a word, a phrase, or an image, or any combination of things.

Morning jaunt

It kept me up the whole of long, dark night
tantalizingly coming close then taking flight

but the moon, my forever partner in crime,
stayed up earnestly, helping me rhyme!

then when the skies turned a pretty blush pink
and the sleepy sun cajoled me with golden winks

I surrendered my poem to the dawn. It stretched languidly
then fell into a rhythm, bidding me adieu, gliding fluidly!

it embraced gay metaphors dancing happily
smiling at similes hanging from trees lazily

nodding at adjectives it met in the park
sauntering by well-versed dogs that didn’t bark

refusing to pause for bird-like commas strewn on green grass
running sentences into each other without a clause!

I realised aubade is just the time to serenade a verse
when nouns and verbs in gentle breeze disperse

it assumes a life of its own refusing to fall in line for line
humming a tune I can’t call fully mine.

Written for dVerse MTB. Today’s host, Laura, says:

So for this MTB: Critique and Craft prompt, there are two writing choices:

1. a poem evoking daybreak/greeting the dawn
2. a poem about lovers parting at dawn

• Please include ‘Morning’ or ‘Aubade’ somewhere in the title of your chosen poem
• Either poem can be written in any rhyme scheme but since ‘aubade’ also refers to a piece of music to the morning then focus on making the words sound melodious.
• For those who prefer more of a challenge, write in hymnal, ballad or a song format of your choosing

Whither democracy

A decuian

The soothsayer said, beware of March’s ides
but the tyranny of majority,
on tenth March, we saw ghastily rise
euphemistic name is democracy
false sense of pride is a priority
real issues fail test of survival
free-thinking voices  in minority
parochial views are on revival
ignoramuses swallow lies
long live despotism, democracy dies!

A tetracyts

In
my core
lives a hope
that will not die
I hold sunflowers close to my sore heart.

Written for dVerse MTB. Today’s host, Laura, says: So in today’s challenge I offer you a choice :-

a 10 line stanza poem (more stanzas permitted of this length)
10 syllables per line
rhyme scheme as per the Decuain or free verse if you’d prefer

AND/OR:

a 5 line stanza poem (more stanzas if you wish)
1;2;3;4;10 syllables for each successive line of the 1^st; 3^rd; 5^th  stanza etc; inverted for even numbered stanzas.

(The results of elections in five states of India came out on the 10th of March. Sadly, rising unemployment, inflation, state’s apathy during covid were not issues at all! Religion and a false sense of national security swayed the votes.)

Love’s silhouette

We met in the dark of the night, didn’t we
I knew for sure, for you, no one was I
Me with my rent heart, invisible me
Why I never was of note, tell me why!

Shadow boxing, through the darkened shadows
Black eyes we gave ourselves, blackest of black
Throw punches we did, at each other throw
Dark souls devouring each other in dark!

Light I felt when saw an inkling of light
Purged of all despair, uncertainty purged
Fight the black veil, O my beloved, fight!
Emerge from the obsidian depths emerge!

No more residing in penumbra, you know
Blow gently sweet wind of love gently blow!

Written for dVerse MTB. Today’s host, Laura, says:

Your challenge is simply(!):

write a sonnet poem of 14 lines and 10 syllables (iambic pentameter is optional extra)

choose the Italian, English or French rhyme form

start and end each line with the same word (including derivatives and homophones)

put ‘shadow’ or its derivative in your title

use the notion of shadow as metaphor or reality somewhere in your poem.

I have written an English sonnet in pentameter. ( Writing again in iambic pentameter would have driven me crazy;) )

All slay the miny Virona!

(Narrative Nonsense)

All slay the miny virona!

No huffling, no puffling, no ruffling of breeze
No warignal of it in the beginning
Except sniffs and snivels and maybe a sneeze!

Slyowly fever in some bodies did seize
The infernal virona was suddenly flourishing
No huffling, no puffling, a slight ruffling of breeze.

We blamed everyone’s aunt, as well as the Chinese
Masking reluctrily as via air it was travelling
More than sniffs and snivels and a whole lot of sneezes!

Knights in white coats toiled coavidly without cease
As the miny virona went merrily globe trotting
No huffling, no puffling, mighty ruffling of breeze.

Jabbing aggressively is the only way to freeze
The hopkip journey of this thingamajig
Attacking us with sniffs and snivels and maybe a sneeze!

Time to attwart its relentless sprees
Our weapons distancing, masking and jabbing
No huffling, no piffling but ruffling of breeze
Defighting sniffs, snivels and that darn sneeze!

Written for dVerse MTB. Today’s host, Björn, says: follow your own heart and amuse us all, you can use any poetic device you want to use, rhyme, repetition, alliteration. I would be super glad to see if anyone comes up with a nonsense Villanelle for instance.

Little things

Little things bless me everyday
a teen chest moving rhythmically
throughout the night
a sleepyhead’s scowl brightening my morn
a quick, warm cuddle before I leave the bed
dawn’s fingers caressing me with warmth
the sound of temple bells*, gurbani** and adhan*** co-mingling
fresh aroma of tea brewing filling my senses
the pride with which this lil tomato makes my heart swell
usual chores that keep me busy all day
a phone call that confirms mom is alright
light banter with friends through messaging apps
kind words left by accomplished poets
on my homely verses
blessed is my day when at dusk
I watch birds flocking back to their nests
clear nights fill me with gratitude
when with my namesake
I sit in companionable silence
’tis always the little things
that brighten my day and bring joy
big knock-me-down good news
don’t knock at my door any more.

Written for dVerse MTB. Today’s host, Grace says: write a response poem to David Whyte’s Blessing for Light and Blessing for Sound poems.

*temple bells: the sound of the bell is considered auspicious which welcomes divinity and dispels evil. The sound of the bell is said to disengage mind from ongoing thoughts thus making the mind more receptive. Bell ringing during prayer is said to help in controlling the ever wandering mind and focusing on the deity.

**gurbani: it is a Sikh term, very commonly used by Sikhs to refer to various compositions by the Sikh Gurus and other writers of Guru Granth Sahib, their holy book.

***adhan: the Arabic word adhan means “to listen.” It is the call for prayer which is used to notify the muslims about prayer time. The five compulsory prayers which are supposed to be observed by every muslim, everyday, form the second pillar of Islam.

Fragmented Life

(From Pexel)

1. The familiar faces, the tentative hugs
smiles radiating brilliantly through masks
words tumble out in a hurry
trying to make up lost time
perhaps I am alive again

2. Words clamour to skip on paper
to showcase and receive applause
I quell them forcefully
sometimes ordinary conversations
steal the limelight of meticulously crafted words
taking centre stage surreptitiously

3. Snatches of tête a tête, whispered gossip
I turn hearing my name
wiping guilt from his face, he smiles
I smile back
he carries baggage from the past
which has no place in my future

4. We know not when the next opportunity will arise
ominous “you know who” is spreading tentacles
I had stepped into the reality of living
only to be snatched back from the brink
to the unreal life of real fears.

Written for dVerse. Today’s host, Laura says: So for this prompt we are to write a Modernist/Post-Modernist Fragment poem ~by that I mean

Either: 
a  poem of several  numbered stanzas. Each being complete in itself and having only a passing relationship to each other, if at all
OR
a poem of disjointed images (like listening to conversation in passing, repetitively switching between radio/tv station, random images across a screen, or paintings/photos seen in a gallery)

Rules:
Your poem should NOT conform to any rhyme scheme
Your poem MUST include Fragment(s) somewhere  in the title.

We took a road trip recently to attend the wedding of a classmate’s daughter. Meeting school friends after a gap of two years was unreal but magical.

Marrying tastes

High heat in the beginning provides a beautiful glaze
keeping the core tender
slow simmer then, for the juices to mingle
sizzling seasoning adds chutzpah making it truly distinctive
slapdash sandwich it certainly is not!

Two seemingly unlike ingredients
with similar underlying properties
a host of condiments added from time to time
to keep it fresh and save it from turning bland
a dutch oven to bring out the flavours
a melding of them so delectable that
in the unifying dish one can taste the unique flavours
yet the dish would lose its identity
if one from the two was missing.

Written for dVerse. Today’s host Björn says: Today I thought we should revisit a prompt from 2013 by Anna and use the concept of conceit. A conceit is defined as an extended and complex metaphor that creates that apart from creating an element of surprise. If a metaphor is used to enhance imagery the conceit is better suited to describe an intricate metaphysical or emotional subject.