Because I love you Puchhu...

            My lovely Puchhu.
               I loved you, and I will
            love you always. Promise.

 You are in my mind, always will be.

Jumping, wagging your tail, licking,

you taught me what no one would,

 what no one could. Jumping up the

     pane, whining for food, ears in curly

      folds, licking my whole being, always.
                           It is true that you were an
                           angel, halo intact, dropped

                            from heaven, for only me.

                            You were my light, bright.

                                 You were my soul, whole.  
       You were my silent prayer, you still are.
         You were my strength. You were my joy.
                                    You were my classy peer.
                                    You were my question. You
                                     were my answer, always are.
                 You were mine, you will always be. I vow.
                    You were my constant, you will always be.

                                          You were my  poetry, my story.
                                             You were my friend, a very dear 
                                                 friend. You will always be. Truly.
                                                   You were stray, but were here to stay.
                                                Why did you leave me so alone? Did
                                                    I not appease you to the bone? I tried  
                                                   to. I wish I had rolled on the floor with
                                                      you. I wish I had known your language, 
                                                    to talk,  to smile, to laugh, to cry. I wish 
                                                      I were you- A soul so pure, a heart ever so
                                                       clean, paws ever dirty. I wish I could jump,
                                                   wag my tail, return your wet kisses, with 
                                                   love, love so great that would surpass
                                                  any in this big, bad world. I
                                                                                      miss 
                                                                          you 
                                                      Puchhu, I    
                        always, always will.                       

* Lost her about 2 weeks back. Dedicated to the ever loving her. I tried to compose a concrete poem that would mimic the way she slept, stretching her whole body. I failed miserably.

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Book Review: Turquoise Silence by Sanober Khan

Turquoise Silence by Sanober Khan

A disclaimer: This book is a part of a blog tour conducted by The Book Club and all the reviews are done in exchange of a copy of the book from the publisher or author. No monetary trasaction takes place.

The Blurb

The book is a collection of free verse poems that encapsulate the poet's most heartfelt emotions about life. They speak of moments that sweep our breath away, of beauty that bewitches the heart, of people, memories, sights, sounds and smells that awaken a sense of wonder and wistfulness. With rich metaphors and eloquently flowing imagery, the poet's love for the simple things in life unfolds in different moods and tones, ultimately ending up in words felt, cherished, concieved and written... in turquoise silence

MY REVIEW

Reading poetry books is not something that I do very often. I enjoy poetry, but, I am not someone who has an indepth knowledge of the various poetic forms.  Hence, when I was asked to review Sanober Khan's Turquoise Silence, I readily agreed. 

The poems in this book are in the form of free verses, i.e., they do not follow any particular rhyme, meter or other musical pattern. Spontaneity is a key factor when it comes to free verses and Sanober does an excellent job in maintaining the spontaneity in all her poems. The words seem to flow effortlessly without any glitches.

Sanober's poems deal with emotions - emotions dealing with poetry, the moon, memories, wishes, seasons, senses and many other aspects that we come across in our lives. The metaphors used to convey the underlying emotions bowled me over, my favourite being "I begin as a single snowflake and end in an avalanche" from the very first poem, Poetry In My Heart (Page #7).

If I have to handpick 5 poems that I read and re-read many times, they would be:

Poetry In My Heart (Page #7)

Let Me Die (Page #35)

All Things Past (Page #40)

To The World (Page #65)

Night Soul (Page #67)

There are a few things that, personally, bothered me a little. Firstly, at many places, the "I" is in lower case. Secondly, the use of ellipses was overdone at many places. I wish these minute details could be taken care of, because, they stand out evidently in free verse poems.

Overall, I must say I enjoyed reading the book. If I have to rate the book, I would give it 3.75 stars out of 5.

A poet writes a poem keeping one thought in mind, whereas, when it reaches the audience, it is interpreted in many different ways and that is the beauty of poetry. As Sanober puts it rightly, poetry is mystical at its best. I wish Sanober the very best for all her future ventures as a poet. 

Rating - 3.75 out of 5.

Buy @

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sanober

Meet the Poet

Writing poetry is a very different, mystical experience. There is no plot, no storyline, no characters…just a stage set for you and your own deepest self. When I wrote my first poem six years ago, I never imagined it would someday become such an important aspect of my life.

 I have always loved poetry for the creative freedom it offers, the minimal rules, its ability to elevate even the most ordinary moments. At the end of each poem I write, it feels as though I have not just evolved in my style, but also as a person.  My work first appeared in Cyberwit’s international journal, the Taj Mahal Review, which paved the way for me to getting two books published.

I have long been inspired by poets like Khalil Gibran, Rumi, Rabindranath Tagore ,Rolf Jacobsen, E.E Cummings, and John Keats. A voracious reader myself, I enjoy reading poetry and novels from around the globe. 

     

  

Stalk her @

            

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Goodbye

Source: WikimediaCommons

A goodbye isn't always sad,

To better things, some more will add,

Which will make us happy and glad.

*As a part of NaPoWriMo. #30

*The prompt by NaPoWriMo today was: "Today, as befits the final poem of NaPoWriMo, I challenge you to write a poem of farewell. It doesn’t have to be goodbye forever — like I said, NaPoWriMo will be back again next year. If you need a little inspiration, you might find some in perusing this selection of goodbye-and-good-luck poems from the Poetry Foundation website." 

*Also, do visit my friends who are participating in the challenge. You won't be disappointed.

http://andiwrite.com/ – Hrishikesh

http://janakinagaraj.com/ - Janaki

http://jaibalarao.com/ – Jaibala

http://advkaranshah.blogspot.in/ – Karan

http://whilethecoffeebrews.blogspot.in/ - Naina

http://eccentriccontemplations.wordpress.com/ – Nithya

http://viewsofpreethib.wordpress.com/ - Preeti

http://www.rinzurajan.blogspot.in/ – Rinzu

http://ponderingtwo.blogspot.in/ – Rohan

http://juztamom.blogspot.in/ – Sfurti

http://artofleo.wordpress.com/blog/ – Vinay

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Z for Zest

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Finally, we end this challenge,

Thankfully, we could all manage.

Salute to everyone's beaming zest,

I know everyone gave their very best!

*As a part of A-Z Challenge. 

*Dedicated to every A-Zeder and NaPoWriMoer. 

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Life - a poem?

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Life is a poem,

made up of a sea of tears; it is

an ugly sight, a silent scream,

a little bit salty, smelling a

little rotten, the touch of a 

thorn.

Life is a poem where

you can touch the 

smell, just like

Brad could touch 

his wife's perfume that lay

in her grave in Irvine.

Life is a poem,

made up of a sea of tears,

of happiness, smelling 

like freshly ground chutney - a

 little sweet, a little tangy,

a lot spicy.

Life is a poem,

of "all izzzz well".

Like a fierce  lion of bravery,

like a cold, dreadful sun,

like Brad eating a pizza

with chopsticks.

Life is a poem,

where Pooh dances to

the tunes of a 

ripped off Bollywood

number in the 

everlasting rain of Oregon.

Life is a poem,

where the earth 

will begin to move

 around the sun a lot 

faster than it does 

now. 

Life is a poem

like a sight,

a beautiful sight of 

a lovely crow

perched on a tree,

an ugly tree.

Life is a poem,

where Muchas gracias

overplays sorry. Like a

dog riding a big brown 

horse. Like a plant 

singing a happy tune.

Life -  a poem, or a prose, or a poetic prose?

*As a part of NaPoWriMo. #29

*The prompt by NaPoWriMo today was: "This may remind you a bit of the “New York School” recipe, but this prompt has been around for a long time. I remember using it in a college poetry class, and loving the result. It really forces you into details, and to work on “conducting” the poem as it grows, instead of trying to force the poem to be one thing or another in particular. The prompt is called the “Twenty Little Poetry Projects,” and was originally developed by Jim Simmerman. And here are the twenty little projects themselves — the challenge is to use them all in one poem:

1. Begin the poem with a metaphor.
2. Say something specific but utterly preposterous.
3. Use at least one image for each of the five senses, either in succession or scattered randomly throughout the poem.
4. Use one example of synesthesia (mixing the senses).
5. Use the proper name of a person and the proper name of a place.
6. Contradict something you said earlier in the poem.
7. Change direction or digress from the last thing you said.
8. Use a word (slang?) you’ve never seen in a poem.
9. Use an example of false cause-effect logic.
10. Use a piece of talk you’ve actually heard (preferably in dialect and/or which you don’t understand).
11. Create a metaphor using the following construction: “The (adjective) (concrete noun) of (abstract noun) . . .”
12. Use an image in such a way as to reverse its usual associative qualities.
13. Make the persona or character in the poem do something he or she could not do in “real life.”
14. Refer to yourself by nickname and in the third person.
15. Write in the future tense, such that part of the poem seems to be a prediction.
16. Modify a noun with an unlikely adjective.
17. Make a declarative assertion that sounds convincing but that finally makes no sense.
18. Use a phrase from a language other than English.
19. Make a non-human object say or do something human (personification).

20. Close the poem with a vivid image that makes no statement, but that “echoes” an image from earlier in the poem." 

*Also, do visit my friends who are participating in the challenge. You won't be disappointed.

http://andiwrite.com/ – Hrishikesh

http://janakinagaraj.com/ - Janaki

http://jaibalarao.com/ – Jaibala

http://advkaranshah.blogspot.in/ – Karan

http://whilethecoffeebrews.blogspot.in/ - Naina

http://eccentriccontemplations.wordpress.com/ – Nithya

http://viewsofpreethib.wordpress.com/ - Preeti

http://www.rinzurajan.blogspot.in/ – Rinzu

http://ponderingtwo.blogspot.in/ – Rohan

http://juztamom.blogspot.in/ – Sfurti

http://artofleo.wordpress.com/blog/ – Vinay

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Y for Youth

Source: Wikimedia Commons

The youth have the utmost power,

To build a magnificent tower,

Made up of soaring aspirations,

That can build a nation with strong foundations.

*As a part of A-Z Challenge. 

*Dedicated to the youthful power. 

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Hitched!

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Clooney gets hitched!

Girls swooning over him,

Now feel their hopes grim,

As Amal has left him bewitched.

*As a part of NaPoWriMo. #28

*The prompt by NaPoWriMo today was: "Today I challenge you to find a news article, and to write a poem using (mostly, if not only) words from the article! You can repeat them, splice them, and rearrange them however you like. Although the vocabulary may be “just the facts,” your poem doesn’t have to be — it doesn’t even have to be about the subject of the news article itself." So, I used http://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/tabloid/george-clooney-engaged-report/article1-1212715.aspx

*Also, do visit my friends who are participating in the challenge. You won't be disappointed.

http://andiwrite.com/ – Hrishikesh

http://janakinagaraj.com/ - Janaki

http://jaibalarao.com/ – Jaibala

http://advkaranshah.blogspot.in/ – Karan

http://whilethecoffeebrews.blogspot.in/ - Naina

http://eccentriccontemplations.wordpress.com/ – Nithya

http://viewsofpreethib.wordpress.com/ - Preeti

http://www.rinzurajan.blogspot.in/ – Rinzu

http://ponderingtwo.blogspot.in/ – Rohan

http://juztamom.blogspot.in/ – Sfurti

http://artofleo.wordpress.com/blog/ – Vinay

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