Tuesday, April 30, 2024

Touched by Atlas

NaPoWriMo-2024

Day-30

Prompt: Today, we’d like to challenge you to write a poem in which the speaker is identified with, or compared to, a character from myth or legend, as in  Claire Scott’s poem “Scheherazade at the Doctor’s Office.”


                                                                   P.C: Google


A dream is about to come true

As I soar high

Touching the skies

Flying towards westward.

Mesmerized

With  strength and resilience

In those years of timeless desires

To feel the essence of green shores.

Now, ages later, 

The eyes are sparkling

With deep eagerness

To  touch the shoulders

To bear the burden and  breathe 

Across the blue seas and oceans




Participating in: NaPoWriMo-2024






Monday, April 29, 2024

Mercurial

 NaPoWriMo-2024

Day-29

Prompt: A list of ten words by Taylor Swift...we’d like to challenge you to select one of these words and write a poem that uses the word as its title.


                                                                       P.C: Sunita

Moodswings is a new skin. 
The 50s adds to the timeline as
Every ounce of the mind and body goes through a
Rigorous torture of murderous flushes. 
Thunderous rage screams in isolation. There is a deep
Urge to stay away from people and noises.
You feel like you are stuck between two tracks
Wavering, wandering at the changes. Unfocused!
Restlessness you wear like a cloak. 
Dry skin, creaking joints, sleepless nights
There is no meaning when the hair sprouts from
Where it is least wanted and 
Falls off where it is most wanted.
A huge question ponders... What is your gender?
It is not easy to express oneself to the better half
The prism sees one more tantrum to seek attention
Life hangs on a biological clock 
As the body oscillates between hormonal zones.




Participating in: NaPoWriMo-2024



Sunday, April 28, 2024

Homeless

 NaPoWriMo-2024

Day-28

Prompt: To try your hand at writing a sijo. This is a traditional Korean verse form. A sijo has three lines of 14-16 syllables. 


                                                                        Pic Credit: Sunita


The temperatures have hit above 45degree Celsius;

Hot winds blow across the empty spaces.

A cool breeze caresses the body,

The air-conditioner is in full swing.

Peeping at the cooing outside the window,

A pair of thirsty pigeons meets the eye.




Participating in: NaPoWriMo-2024





Saturday, April 27, 2024

Springtime in Madison

NaPoWriMo-2024

Day-27

Prompt: To write an American Sonnet.


                                                                      P.C: Sneha

When spring touches,

On the grounds of her  campus,

She WhatsApp me, not words, but.

Photos of blooming, fragrant carpet of flowers.

The warm colors fill my soul with blissful pleasures

I close my eyes and feel their fragrance in faraway shores

I send a silent prayer and blessings

For her safety and good tidings.

The heart beats with pride,

For what she is out to achieve,

Many seasons ago, she set out on a journey

Circumnavigating oceans to fulfill her dreams: many.

She wears many hats and makes pathways among the giants

We share a bond that suffixes love and sometimes we are at loggerheads.


                                                                        P.C: Sneha




Participating in: NaPoWriMo-2024




Friday, April 26, 2024

Hot and Sweaty!

NaPoWriMo-2024

Day-26


                                                                 Pic credit: Sunita Prasad


The summers were never so warmer

The stink in the wind gets under the skin

A hot burner melts on the sticky hair

The crazy sun churns and burns

As a salty pool of charred wool gathers.

The eyes water and become red like a witch

I wish I could just go to the beach

Take a dip, wash away the heat along with the waves

Feel the sliding water soothing my aggressive nerves.




Participating in: Napowrimo-2024





Thursday, April 25, 2024

Truth Prevails

NaPoWriMo-2024

Day-25

Prompt: To write a poem based on " Proust_Questionnaire   "


                                                                   Photograph by Sunita


To be one with nature

Not to be there when someone is in danger

Conflicts are not my cup of tea

Betrayal cuts me into two

The apple didn't fall far away from the tree

Waking up, after the sun has moved across the horizon

Racing against menopausal blues

Relationships are faceless

When the piece of cake in the fridge winks at midnight

The mirror never  lies

Filibuster gives me piles

Honesty thy name 

Simplicity is the best attire

Literally, too many

My wagtails rule my heart

In the pigtail days

To play with colors

To have parents who cared

Facing every adversity with a smile

A rebirth of self

Where the heart is at peace

An old watch

Lying, witch

To teach, to share 

Honesty is a dare

Acceptance, I swear

The Bard leads, Hardy behind, and Marlowe follows.

Henchard, my friend, life is not easy guilt-ridden

The Fakir who inspired the world

Presently, searching for a needle in a haystack my lord!

Affection, a piece of my flesh

Procrastination, but, a blind follower

Couldn't say goodbye before he crossed over

Quietly in sleep, without any burden

Don't harm anybody, be sensible.





Participating in : NAPOWRIMO-2024

















Wednesday, April 24, 2024

Where The Mind Is Without Fear

 NaPoWriMo-2024

Day=24

Prompt: to write a poem that begins with a line from another poem (not necessarily the first one), but then goes elsewhere with it. This will work best if you start with a line of poetry you remember, but without looking up the whole original poem. The idea is for the original to furnish the backdrop for your work without influencing you so much that you feel as if you are just rewriting the original! 


                                                              P.C: Google


Where the mind is without fear

Nothing can stop us from finding our star 

This world belongs to all of us

There is space for every being

However small or big 

Finding happiness 

In the smallest things

To find the heart

To feed a hungry beggar

Showing kindness towards others

Who are less fortunate

Being kind to the voiceless ones

Sharing a piece of our life with them

Finding Happiness

In the first ray of the sun

To feel alive and to exist

In the light of a moonbeam

To smell the fragrance of a jasmine

In the smile of a child

When pain touches us unseen

In the whisp of a cool breeze

In the fragrance of a petrichor

Under the shade of a huge tree

On a hot summer afternoon

So many wonderful magical moments

If we look around to make life more content

Where the mind is without fear

Nothing can stop us from finding our star.




Participating in: NaPoWriMo-2024




Tuesday, April 23, 2024

My Super Hero!

NaPoWriMo-2024

Day-23

Prompt: To write about a superhero.


Painting by Sunita

I don't have enough words
To describe you
I only know that I have
Only one superhero
And that is you.

Decades have passed
You have crossed you
I couldn't find
Anybody as perfect as you.
Your gentle nature
Your kindness toward others
Your insatiable ability 
To learn, unlearn, and learn
To accept every adversity
With a smile
Such great qualities
You were endowed.

My superhero! 
From you, I was born
You chiseled me in your mold
Everything that breathes and exists
In my world
It is a blessing from you
I am trying to follow
The best of whatever you were.

If I could be born again
I would like to be born
As your daughter again.




Participating in : NaPoWriMo-2024




Monday, April 22, 2024

Cricket Maniac

NaPoWriMo-2024

Day-22

Prompt: To write a poem where two unlikely things have a fight. For me, T20 and TEST MATCH are two different things :D


                                                                      P.C: Google


"T20..hmmm, aah,

What a waste of talent!"

Said the Test match.

Wasting overs

In search of pennies.

The bowlers and batsmen

In colorful attires

Looking like clowns in the gutter!

Rushing adrenaline and nothing more!

Going merry go around with the highest bidders.

International players hogging the limelight

Playing for other nations. What a shame!

For the sake of brownie points.

Whatnot you are embroiled!

Drugs, match-fixing, late-night parties, and an egoistic show!

Wasted a gentlemen's game, you imbecile!!!

                                                                       P.C: Google

Hah! Scoffs  T20

"What do you know about talent?"

You just strutter and preen over

On the grassy mound in your whites!

Five days wasted

Just playing defense

And not scoring any runs.

Scorching in the hot sun

With hardly any spectators

To appreciate your lazy players!

Scrubbing the ball over balls!!!

 Look at me! I save time and money

My aficionados earn millions 

Showing their power with a bat and a ball!

They gain fans across the word

And not stuck in their archaic hegemony!

In the 21st century

Time is money!

So, accept your fate Mr. Test Match

You are not welcome in our new world!





Participating in: NaPoWriMo-2024



Sunday, April 21, 2024

Blue! The Lifeline

NaPoWriMo-2024

Day-21

Prompt: Write a poem that repeats or focuses on a single color.


                                                                       Pic credit: Sunita


Blue, like life

Cruises in my heart and soul

It caresses my senses 

Through the racing seasons.

In childhood it inked and

Danced on the sprinkled uniforms.

My wardrobe filled with sarees is dotted 

With varied blue shades.

The mundanest of the things

Are filled with splashes of blue.

Blue, like the ocean

Touches my stormy emotions

I breathe the waves on the sandy dunes

The blue sky brings serenity

A whispering silence wraps, in

A flagship of stability.

I look around to find peace

In the wisdom of the smallest  things

As I stroll in the garden

The smiling blue  peas greet my senses

The blue wildflowers, the bluebirds perched on the trees,

The bluest of sun-kissed skies

Fill my life with wonder in enchanting moments.

Peace and serenity touch my life 

Wrapped in the most beautiful blue shades.

    


  

Participating in: NaPoWriMo-2024




Saturday, April 20, 2024

The Mahatma

NaPoWriMo-2024

Day-20

Prompt: To write a poem that recounts a historical movement.

                                                                      Image: Google


He didn't know what lay ahead

As he boarded the train 

In South Africa

He was a gentleman

Who was on a mission

His clients were waiting

To find justice in the reign of racism

His voice mattered the most

He was an erudite Barrister

He sat in the  coach of the train

Waiting to get to his destination

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door

Two uniformed policemen

Questioned him and asked for his credentials

He showed them like any gentleman would do

The Inner Temple graduate didn't impress their skin

What mattered the most was his color

They caught hold of his collar

And dragged him through the compartment

And threw him out on the platform.

That was the turning point in his life...

This man couldn't digest that insult

He took an oath to show these people

That colored people are also human beings

He was clear now... He sat out to show these racists

Anything is possible if one is truthful to oneself

His single-minded resolution 

To bring the racist empire to its knees

Culminated into many historical events

And paved the path to free a nation

From two hundred years of suppression.

He used two weapons to fight against the aggressors

Truth and Non-violence

The mantra that gave freedom to a nation.

His ideals were so powerful 

It inspired many great leaders

Such as Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, and others

To find their voices to fight against apartheid 

And to voice their belief in human rights.

"My Experiments with Truth" is a bible for many.



Participating in: NaPoWriMo-2024



Friday, April 19, 2024

Stillness

NaPoWriMo-2024

Day-19

Prompt: To write, What are you haunted by, or what haunts you? Write a poem responding to this question. Then change the word haunt to hunt.


                                                                     Pic: Sunita



Haunted by your presence

in the shadows of the night

Remembering, the bewitching 

passionate smile

that stoked the heart 

crushing with desires

in the rain-soaked evenings.

The inseparable us

created many magical memories

swaying on the wave of distant chimes.

The evenings are not the same anymore,

those cherishing memories, 

hunt like a shadow

for the lost time.

There is an echo in 

the stillness, the walls 

which time couldn't mend

will carry the bottled-up pain

haunting till eternity.




Participating in: NaPoWriMo-2024




Thursday, April 18, 2024

Inspiration

NaPoWriMo-2024
Day-18

Prompt:  To write a poem in which the speaker expresses the desire to be someone or something else, and explains why.



                                                                         Pic: Sunita


palette of colors
energetic and peaceful
sepia desires










Participating in: NaPoWriMo-2024





Wednesday, April 17, 2024

Dancing Queen

NaPoWriMo-2024

Day-17

Prompt: To write a poem that is inspired by a piece of music, and that shares a title with that piece of music.


                                                             Image source: Google.


When the heart 
Is achy and  heavy,
I put on my favorite music 
And let go of the worry
Not bothered about 
What others will say or feel sorry 
It is my time to heal 
And feel my inner energy.

Breaking the barriers, 
Letting my hair loose
The music pushes away 
The innumerable ghosts
I am the queen of my freedom
I am the queen of my life.

The demons 
Don't matter anymore
The beat of my strength 
Makes me stronger
People will talk, 
People will bicker
Who cares 
When I am my own boss.

I can dance
I can sing
I can feel
The rushing of the wind
Through the soft thud of my heart.

Music heals my soul
It brings me solace
In the realm of rhapsody
I find my serenity.

I make  my memories
I am the creator of my dreams.




Participating in : NaPoWriMo-2024







Tuesday, April 16, 2024

The Missing Link

NaPoWriMo-2024

Day-16

Prompt: To write a poem describing an object or place, and then end with an abstract line that has no connection with the object or place but in reality it does.


                                                                       Pic: Sunita

The table is strewn 
With different shades
Sharply pointed 
Ready to take the world
Red, blue, pink, yellow
And the others  follow too
The white page tempts.
The hand moves slowly
Drawing, erasing, drawing quietly.
The pink takes the lead
But, the blue is not far behind
The green stands in line
The fingers are still
Reminding; to fill 
Brighter shades.
Juggling between
The different colors
The page comes alive.
She stares at the window blindly.

Sometimes the mind plays many tricks.


Participating in: NaPoWriMo-2024







Monday, April 15, 2024

The Woes of the Ruled

NaPoWriMo-2024

Day-15

Prompt: Write a poem inspired by the wide world of postage stamps.


                                                                       Stamps Bot

Ola!
I bring the message
From across the mountains and seas
The wind touches the oceans
And sends its fragrance to you.

My friends there
Breathing your country's air
Remembering their motherland
Working, sweating, and living in fear.

You have ruled, converted
Forced, for five centuries
We carry your footprints
In our culture, food, and habits.

Obrigado Patron
You have changed
The history of time
Identity crises! the new crime.





(Goa was a colony of the Portuguese for five centuries. People are still struggling to adjust to the new ways of life. Many are leaving the place to become part of the EU. There is a sea change in the behavior and attitude of the present generation due to cultural differences)


Participating in : NaPoWriMo-2024




Saturday, April 13, 2024

If

NaPoWriMo-2024

Day-14

Prompt: To write a ten-line poem where each line begins with the same word. This technique is called "anaphora"


                                                                         Pic: Sunita


If I could see you once more, just to touch you, feel you, and hold your hands;

If you could come back and let me know what made you do what you did;

If there was a way, I could dig up all the debris and find the truth;

If  only you had let me in and shared all that pain rather than surrender;

If I were a little bigger and stronger and had the sense to know the danger;

If there were a magic wand that helped to heal the heart and ease the ache; 

If  you  had dared to face the brunt and not buckle down under the pressure;

If you had not taken the last resort and broken down your fences;

If  I  could turn the clock and bring you back to mend the bridges;

If and many "ifs" are only left to let you know how much is left unsaid...




Participating in: NaPoWriMo-2024





Friday, April 12, 2024

My Space

NaPoWriMo-2024

Day-13

Prompt: To write a rhyming poem.


                                                                   image source: friend


I breathe

in deeply. 

The salty vibes 

blissfully.

The wind  

is surreal,

Like a chime

on a prayer wheel.

The sun bows down

on the horizon

With splashes of tomorrow 

dressed in crimson.

Touching,

the waning evenings

with a sparkle.

Life moves,

in a full circle.



Participating in  NaPoWriMo-2024




A Genius Gone Mad

 NAPOWRMO-2024

Day-12

Prompt:  To write a "tall tale"


                                                                 image source: sunita



His brains were the talk of the village

A figure whom everyone adored

He weaved magic with figures

Nobody could beat him at crunching numbers.


Every parent sent their kids to him

To polish their calculating skills

There was no chance for anybody to fail

Under his guidance, they came out with flying colors.


But, after decades of decay

The brain has turned into a monster

People are the pariahs and the outcasts

He hid behind his messed doors.

 

He struts around wearing shorts

Long bushy hair and a taut nose

Sometimes holding a broom

Sometimes a bucket or a bottle filled with pee.


He collects dog poop

Stuff in plastic covers

Take pleasure in sending it

Across the neighbours' front yards.


Nobody dares  to say anything or compliant 

They still respect him for whatever he was

One doesn't know to pity him or hate him

He was a tall figure once, now fighting a losing battle against time.



Participating in : NAPOWRIMO-2024






Thursday, April 11, 2024

The Village

NaPoWriMo-2024

Day-11

Prompt: To write a monostitch.


                                                                        image: sunita

                             


A peaceful silence weaves through the heart of the stream.





Participating in: NaPoWriMo-2024




Wednesday, April 10, 2024

The Canine Squad

 NaPoWriMo-2024

Day-10

Prompt: Write a poem based on one of the curious headlines, cartoons, and other journalistic tidbits featured at Yesterday’s Print, where old news stays amusing, curious, and sometimes downright confusing.



     

How clever and smart

Can wear so many hats

Climbing trees is not a mean task

Imagine holding on and being strong.

I have a few of my own

Can chase crows, cats, rats, and even  monkeys

Not to forget the flying squad of lizards and mosquitoes

One goes around the floor just to squat a fly

The ants are not spared when they attack 

These skills are nothing compared

To their strong communication skills

The honking of the horns by the baker and the fishmonger

The pealing of the cycle bell by the vegetable vendor

All are sounds that are understood

Very ardent listening skills are another forte

A midnight intruder is annihilated within seconds

No one dares to cross the gate without their permission

What is most amazing is their linguistic mindset

Following commands in four languages 

Is not a mean feat.

English, Hindi, Konkani, and Telugu for them are just a piece of cake!



Participating in : NaPoWriMo-2024






NaPoWriMo-2024 Day-30 Prompt:  Today, we’d like to challenge you to write a poem in which the speaker is identified with, or compared to, a ...