O! She, such a nuisance!

April 30, 2020

TSL NaPoWriMo 30 – Prompt – from the view point of a hater

 

O! She, such a nuisance!

 

She is like a Jack-O’-Lantern

Watching over the neighbourhood

What does she think of herself,

The custodian of nature/Earth?

Don’t throw plastic into that plot

(You see, the owners never come)

Don’t burn your waste on the road

(you see, the sweeper comes daily)

What is her problem, I don’t get it!

We with a house, leave alone to

Heap plastic, with no space to

Put down all our asses together

(If one sits the other is in queue)

What will we do with the waste?

She says pay 300 /month, corporation

People will take it away

What does she think of herself

To tell us what to do with our waste?

We in merry will have a bird and wine

Where will we throw the bones and bottles

Now we throw the bones to dogs, but

Bottles throttle our dark corners in the house

How I loathe… you can’t even imagine –

Burning plastic will cause cancer, she says,

So what… let it be so, population is

Uncontrollable now, let it be so

She talks all amiably, with a smile

And in low voice – Oh, how I hate her

But none has any spine to talk to her

All stopped coming out of their home

With plastic bags in hands

… who she thinks she is!!

I hate her for what she is …

I really hate her …

…………………………..//

* Jack-O’-Lantern – a pumpkin with a face

 

2.

 

I am only brinjal plant

 

I am only a brinjal plant

Yes, it is true, I am taller

Than her now, so what?

I want to grow like that

Jamba tree over there

But she cuts my limbs

Whenever I stretch higher

And nips new shoots on

The taller limbs

What is her problem

I don’t get it?

I am only a brinjal plant

She could put a stake

If I grow all over the place

And become taller than jamba

What is her problem?

May be … may be .. I will cover

Her beans, pepper, okra etc

So what, I’m just a brinjal plant

May be a bit ambitious, you see

I hate her for what she is doing

I really, really hate her

You are here!

April 29, 2020

TSL NaPoWriMo 29– Prompt – poem on absence

 

You are here!

 

When I was a baby

I heard you kept pillows

On both sides of me

To feel your presence

Not to be scared of

Being left alone

 

When I was little big

You were wont to rise

At 3.30 every morning

You kept a pillow under

My leg which wrapped

You the whole night

 

Now you have gone home

Leaving me alone in my path

 

Wherever I go, without a

Pillow to hug I can’t sleep

A mother I am now, still

 

Mother, you are the only

Luxury I have; the only treasure;

I hug you in every breath

Of mine, for life

 

I am a driftwood

On your shore

Waiting to be a sand

Grain, to join yours

Dark afternoon, it’s raining – AndAdi Tamil poetry form

April 28, 2020

TSL NaPoWriMo 28– Prompt –AndAdi Tamil poetry form

 

1.

 

Dark afternoon, it’s raining

 

Dark afternoon, summer, birds whirred

Whirred the clouds, when the sky roared

Roared ferociously the sky; flung fire

Fire-sword cleaved the lung of Earth

Earth’s in dark; Sun closed the eyes

Eyes closed the beings on Earth in fear

Fearless night, as aforehand, dawned

Dawn’s in make-up-room, apply’g lipstick

Sticking strictly to timetable, for the next show

Show must start whether all the eyes see or not

Not every day the shows get houseful

Fulfilling mind, heart and souls

 

2.

 

Jasmine in memory (Haiku andhadi)

 

Jasmine blooms white

In the brambled sky moonless

Sans any fragrance

 

Fragrance of jasmine

Flood the room, window ajar

The young blood afire

Afire is the memory

Vernal hues filled autumn

Jasmine blooms again

 

3.

 

Homeward

 

They’ve, to earn a living,

Come to the cities

 

Cities, where they swarmed,

Far away from home

 

Home, the destination, now,

Away so many miles

 

Miles, dry, rugged and hopeless,

On barefoot, to walk

 

Walked many till home,

But fell on the way a few

 

A few miles

Away from home

 

Home, now, only their

Memory rests

Haridwar

April 27, 2020

TSL NaPoWriMo 27– Prompt – travel poem

 

Haridwar

 

In Vyas Ghat

In the pristine water flowing

I asked the pebbles

How long you took

To smoothen your sharp edges out?

They said, “eons”

 

I floated in the water

Transparent like tears,

The sky asked me,

“How long you need?”

I said, “forever”

 

It is easy to smooth out

The edges of a stone

But impossible is the job with

“Edging God Out” thorns of humans

Whose ends are getting

More and more sharpened

And poisonous

 

As long as I am human

It is “forever”

 

Ganga smiled, giggled

She tickled my soul with

Her cold fingers

And I just become

A puddle of silence

In her water

 

Some places on Earth

Have magnetic fingers

I am here, with you!

April 26, 2020

TSL NaPoWriMo 26– Prompt – ekphrastic poem

With opening Keat’s lines :

Places you can find love-
It sits around lurking in places.

 

I am here, with you!

 

Places you can find love –

It sits around lurking in places

In plain cloth

Yet eyes don’t meet, hearts don’t hug

The nails were on his body

But it is her bosom that bleeds forever

The baby of heaven, born to her,

Through her virgin womb, lies

Motionless in her lap. The sea of

Unbearable pain foams inside the heart

The baby has not gone, he is just

Around her, embracing her, with invisible

Angelic hands, trying to explain things

Asking to let the pain ebb to its silence

To let the touch of faith emancipate

Her from the brunt of all that happened

But mother is the endless sea of love

Must wading through the pain forever

Her heart, primeval grandeur of beauty-

What can alleviate its motherly pain!

Oh! Mother! If I could tell you that

The crucifixion can’t eclipse my love

And will stay as the aqua vitae for all

He whispers, seeing what she sees!

The Window

April 25, 2020

TSL NaPoWriMo 25– Prompt – window poem

 

The Window

 

1.

 

Once someone told me not to

Make my Love* a window to

See the world, but find the door,

Go out and see it for yourself

 

Even so, if there’s a window with a view

It can bring the sylvan vistas to our eyes

But the eyes must not halt at the frame

To find its peeling wood, old iron’s rust etc.

 

Such nuances in seeing can swallow the world

As a whole like the Aaron’s Serpent**

For every person is a window to one

Unique, self-illuminated world, just as our own

 

Only we are new to it, beware!

Only we are new to it, nothing else.

 

………………..

*Love – lover

** idiom Aaron’s Serpent can swallow anything or anyone

……………………//

 

2

The window has two halves

One has a door of laughter

And the other of anguish

Whatever half you choose to

Look inside to see, the inner-world

Will be the same and only one

Now, you may ask, what is that

To be hidden with laughter and anguish

I cannot tell you, for even a tear

Drop reflects rainbow colours and

The eyes peck on it get tricked

For there is no salty taste

Only the many-hued sweetness of pain!

Only the many-hued sweetness of love!

 

3

 

You stand sentinel compassionate

To protect and entertain my nearly

Wrecked ship beating in the chest

 

Today the wind-beaten leaves are in agony

Their silver-lined eye lashes are seen scantily

The strong after-noon wind was a guest

And a guest is always right

Yonder the coconut fronds hug each other

Even in this social distancing of lock-down

 

You blocked the view of burning garbage

But showed only the smoke flying westward

My baby myrtle silently chocking and sneezing

Inside the compound wall; my eyes burn

The cancer-patient, in one of the neighbouring

House is lying awaiting the sunset

I can’t see her, nor you won’t show her to me

One of the things you hide from my eyes

As if there is only you to keep me safe

 

 

April 25, 2020

TSL NaPoWriMo 25a– Prompt – window poem – Haikus

 

Haikus/3  liner on WINDOW – (Haiku’s main rule is, it should have nature/seasons as its theme or related to nature and an optional 5/7/5 syllable style. That is what I learned and it was my regular form for long time. I loved such three liners and still love to write three liners.) This prompt is tempting …

 

1.

 

Window, the same, here

Seasons on single wheel cycling

I am amused

 

2.

 

Carved sky perfect

Entered through the window

A tree-less world afflicts

 

3.

 

World flows in shades

Lives have same pattern on Earth

Green, yellow and brown

 

4. (not haiku but 3 liner)

 

Words ent’r through windows

Emotions bloom explode die

Robots wipe the tears

 

5.

 

In your eyes when sun

Rises, in my eyes flowers

In rapture, you see

 

6.

 

The rain has stories

To tell; wordless stories all;

Earth impregnated

A humorous poem

April 24, 2020

TSL NaPoWriMo 24– Prompt – Write a humorous poem

 

This afternoon, just before the nap

I thought to get up at four

A lot of seedlings to transplant

And suddenly there was a brouhaha

When I looked up there was her face

Santosh Bhakaya was gongoozling

Into my eyes, very close to my eyes

Hovering over me, without a body

There were collywobbles

Sweating profoundly

Body numb, limbs not moving

You know, I hate anything close to my eyes

I wanted to push her off my face

But limbs were not moving

I asked her, “how come you here?”

“I saw you in fb, with two others,

In red dress, one Lily and the other Satbir.

How come you here? And without a bo…”

She started “ha ha ha ha…” non-stop

I wanted to shout but my voice was not heard

She told, “I am a virus, I pass through laughter.

When someone laugh from their heart

I get into them, from them to the next one.

Yesterday you laughed like that, and I got inside it

And came here. Ha ahah ahahaha ahaha “

I am sweating, feel thirsty and want to go to loo

But my body is not moving, limbs are not moving

What a horror … what a horror!

Her eyes were showing full of abibliophobia

And I am a nincompoop

She started to talk gibberish (she talks so fast)

I wanted to laugh again, but was afraid

She told, “till someone else laughs … hahahahaa

You are my home … hahahaha”

(Somehow managed to bring out my voice)

I told her, “but… you have a pair of red wings

They grew from your ears and your

Eyes are popping out from nose and

Your tongue wags from your chin… and …”

Suddenly the laugh stopped

She said, “toodle-oo”

Gone

Who laughed now I amused!

Anyway, saved for now

I opened my eyes, the afternoon sun was staring

Through the window

I looked around

None, other part of the bed was empty

Good

“hahahahaha …” again the laughter

“O, God” now what?

I jumped out of the bed

Only to see not one, but three pairs of eyes

Were staring now, indeed from three real bodies

 

April 24, 2020

NaPoWriMo 24– Prompt to write about a particular fruit – your choice

 

Sarkkara Manga (A small mango type, local Kerala)

 

On holidays, when mangoes are

Of many kinds, sarkkara manga

Was the treasure we hunted

It is so small, just in the size of a lemon

But so sweet and creamy with less fibre

It will just melt in the mouth

And we kids would keep it in the mouth

For long time, savouring its sweetness

But this mango tree had only few fruits

In fact, less than 20 or 25, in one year

So, it was just a treasure hunt

Moreover, the tree was surrounded

With thick growth of wild wines

Which made it a real treasure hunting

I was the smartest at home in the game

I would get up as early as possible

Would go to do the hunt; whatever

I get I will wash the mango in the canal

Water which carries water to the rice field

And eat there itself, and will lie to my brother

“There was none today”, with a little guilt!

But he always, as an elder to me, would bring

Home whatever he got, to share with me, half of it.

The sweetness of the sarkkara manga

Is still a mouth-watering thing to remember.

The tree was used in the pyre of our father,

As per his wish, as that was our oldest mango tree

A feeble voice from afar

April 23, 2020

TSL NaPoWriMo 23– Prompt – Write an unappeasable, unapologetically true poem about your reflection in the mirror.

…………………………….

A feeble voice from afar

 

When I look into your eyes

To see me, it is almost wave-less ocean,

Like that of a windless day

I know .. I know … I am almost invisible

Only there will be a tiny voice of a tiniest

Ripple of my high breath that rarely occurs

Non-apologetic to be hidden, enjoying the silence of

Deep ocean, far away from ears full of chaos

I, somehow, am into a word-less world

I have no vocabulary great to impress you

Nor to promote myself; luck or bad-luck!

And need not find a need to prove it too

But you’re all there, as long as I am here

This too, finds no need to prove to you nor to me either

We’re born green leaves to become yellow and fall

And the voice of our falling, only the earth feels

The tremble on hear temple

And we are all not one, but many, to many,

In different times of this life

Sometime we will find us chirping and fluttering

As if in an eternal spring

Yet there comes the summer and winter

And we will sweat and freeze, wailing or silently,

In life’s heat and cold

There is much to see beyond eyes…

To hear beyond ears…

That only hearts can accept and digest

If a food is not suitable to me, or I feel so, I may go

And find my own food or make one for me

I may be wrong in my decision but let it be so

I am simply human, with so many flaws

And you will do the same, I know

No apologies to your offering if any denial from me

You are also doing the same I am sure

For you won’t take in anything that will cause indigestion

I want to be a hen which pecks on only grains

From the garbage and to walk my path

Without harming anyone or being harmed

By anyone, along with all, as I am. Period.

 

 

April 23, 2020

NaPoWriMo 23– Prompt – Write on any letter in english

 

A for All

Like a roof

Stands over

all

Strong

 

V for Vow

Opening

Both hands

To all

Into its

Fold

 

Let us

All do a

Vow to

Be a roof

Over each

Other

 

There are still

More warriors

24 in numbers

To help us

The Voyager, never returned!

April 22, 2020

TSL NaPoWriMo 22– Prompt

 

PROMPT

Art cannot be divided into sections and often one flows into the other. Painters may use a great work of literature as their theme while poets can be inspired by paintings and sculptures. Today, the prompt has 2 pieces of sculpture one modern and the other of the Renaissance period.

Please do not mix the two sculptures in your poem. You must write atleast one poem but not more than 2.

It need not be an ekphrastic poem. For example, instead of Mary Magadalene you may see someone else. Please understand it is for reference only, rest it is upto each one of you. You are completely free to go beyond what you see.
The first one is by Donatello. Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi (c. 1386 – 13 December 1466), better known as Donatello, an Italian sculptor of the Renaissance period.
The sculpture is called the ‘The Penitent Magdalene’ which is a wooden sculpture of Mary Magdalene created around 1453–1455. It is located in Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Florence.
The second is by a modern sculptor, Bruno Catalano. Bruno Catalano (born :-1960 – ), is a French sculptor, most renowned for creating sculptures of figures with substantial sections missing.
He has created life -size bronze sculptures, called, ‘ Les Voyageurs’. The one here is called, ‘Fragments’ and is located in Venice, Italy.

 

 

 

The Voyager, never returned! (Art ref: Fragments)

 

From Africa

I started

Searching green pastures

Alone

With a bag full of hopes

Africa was plastered on me

Visible, so visible

To Persia, to Europe

To America, to Asia

Crossed deserts and oceans…

Not a place on earth

Have I left in the quest

Hoping to bring

Bread and butter

Grain and coins

To those hungry stomachs

Waiting for eons

In my home

Time flew past so fast

Hiraeth

Africa grew on me

Swallowed me bit by bit

I lost my head and heart

But my feet kept moving

At one point of time

Only the feet and bag

Remained

Home, family, love,

Feelings, emotions, hopes…

Everything vanished

At the end

The quest too ended

Only the empty bag

Bereft of hopes and me

Remains

Now I don’t belong to any land

Green pasture, a mere mirage!

 

2.

 

April 22, 2020

NaPoWriMo 22– Prompt – idiom from other language

 

Swedish Idiom: Finns det hjärterum så finns det stjärterum.

Translation: If there is room in the heart, there is room for the butt.

Meaning: If we care about you, we’ll make room for you to join us.

 

Chennai: Neurosurgeon dies of Covid-19, mob attacks hearse, tries to stop burial (India Today, April 20)

 

A place in hearts

 

His name was Simon Hercules

A neurosurgeon served many

Was here to do a herculean task

To treat corona-patients means so

But he was not so herculean himself

And succumbed to corona

We were told to clap hands and lit lamps

To appreciate the doctors and nurses

And those volunteers who risk their life

To save us from this deadly demon

But what we had done to him

We denied him dignity refusing a burial proper

Where did we place this selfless beings –

In our hearts or just inside our palm,

To use them whenever we need them?

If it was in heart he would have had a place

To rest in peace as he deserved

You failed yourselves, and do not deserve

A burial in dignity in hearts humane

Tomorrow when you are ill or your

Child is ill, doctors won’t deny you a place

Remember that … only that

Because what awaits you tomorrow

Is unpredictable

Have hearts humane

To have a place in hearts sane

A Prayer

April 21, 2020

NaPoWriMo 21– Prompt –  a prayer

 

I had done many a prayer

In many a religion

From many a place

I had done many a ritual

And many offerings too

They all had emptied

Themselves off me

Set me free

Now I am asked

To pray, in words!

Silence is my home

My silence is my prayer

To the formless, shapeless

Odourless, timeless you

Words have no meanings

I see you play as children

I see you work through

The hands of medical-servants

I see you in houses which open

Their doors to strangers in distress

I see you in those compassionate hands

I see you smile in my garden

In the green of grass blades

You are … you are … you are …

Only you

Only this

My brain is dead

It is thoughtless, feelingless…

Painless, joyless …

Have mercy to use these humble hands too

Let my deeds be my prayers

No harm to any one, animate or inanimate

I must do

I have nothing to ask

 

April 21, 2020

TSL NaPoWriMo 21– Prompt –  prayer with any 4/5 words from “Earth, Sun, Moon, beauty, kindness, circles, silver, gold, wings, sky, eagle , sacred”

 

I bow to thee

 

Earth, O Mother!

The green garden of Universe

The most sacred beauty alive

The compassionate and patient most

Who taught me patience

Who in trying times give me strength

I bow to thee, please accept my gratitude!

 

Sun, the powerful king

Of the universe of kingdoms multitude

The one who awake the life and light

Within us, we’re safe within your magnetic love

You taught us to keep the fire within alive

The clouds can never kill a sun

I bow to thee, please accept my gratitude!

 

Moon! Oh! the most compassionate sentinel!

There’s a difference between a rich’s billion

And the copper of a poor

You donated your copper, reflecting the light

You receive, on us to remove the darkness

Fell upon us in the absence of the source

Your kindness keep the hope within us

You taught to be kind and protective of each other

I bow to thee, please accept my gratitude!

 

Sky, you the manifestation of vastness and openness

Holding our breathing air within your bosom

You protect us from the dangers

Coming in like eagles of other worlds

Burning them alive with your power

Without thee, we’re not

I bow to thee, please accept my gratitude!

 

I am flapping my wings and make

Circles and circles in my sky

With the power blessed upon me

Not from one but from every atom

Of this Universe

Of what I am not even in the size of an atom

I bow to thee all, who taught me in one way or the other

Many a thing which I would never’ve learned on  my own,

Please accept my gratitude!