Writing 201:Poetry, Day Ten:Pleasure, Sonnet, Apostrophe

Today’s form: Sonnet

Today’s  Device: Apostrophe

I have struggled hard to write this sonnet since I saw the prompt. I find it very difficult to give up. This morning an email from a friend brought some sad news. I’m sorry I’m not writing this for pleasure of any kind, but something to show our friend we all understand what this loss means to him and us.

To My Friend!

Today our good friend’s world is in disarray.

His dearest son bid goodbye forever!

I don’t know how to  comfort him today.

How can we humans deal with this ever!

 

He truly has been a good friend for long.

I feel lost to know he’s out there suffering.

I wish I could say, “don’t believe this it’s wrong,

He will come back to you happy  smiling.”

 

Life puts us through so many hard exams.

It’s not easy when you are facing it.

So let’s pray my friend can make other plans,

Like spend time  with  his  other kids and not quit.

 

Our children are special we  know it’s true,

I hope none of us,will face this blow too!

………………………………… 😦

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Writing 201: Poetry

Day 9: Cold, Concrete Poem,Anaphora/Epistrophe
Today’s form : Concrete Poetry
Today’s device: Anaphora/Epistrophe
When
the days
are shorter
my mind begins
to wonder, are we
expecting to see large
snowflakes today?My mind
says:not just yet,be ready
with your shovels and ice pick
after snow it might rain and make
the surface slippery and icy,it really
becomes so bad only your skates will help.
I know
December
is the
month
when the snow will show up.
It will cover the car, the walkway
the outside porch and driveway and the tree
O God, help me I will say
O God, You are the one who
can save me,from the cold ice and snow
From today I will begin to Pray,
So the snow is not heavy, I will Pray,
Do you think it will help if I Pray?
So that the winter does not last long!
………………………… 🙂

Writing 201: Poetry,Day Eight–Flavor, Elegy, Enumeratio

Make today’s poem about one flavor( feel like addressing multiple flavors? Go for it!)

Today’s form:elegy

Today’s device:  enumeratio

Poetry was always my source of inspiration,

I read it in three languages,

English, Bengali and Urdu,

I wish there was more,

Still It was enough to quench my satisfaction!

 

Then I saw an ad of taking a course,

In poetry writing, I exclaimed with joy,

I knew I enjoyed reading and recitation,

But writing it was beyond my expectation!

 

I got my courage together,

And signed up for the course,

All the while wondering ,

Did I make the right choice?

 

Then came the day I saw an email,

It’s poetry day one I read out loud,

Screen, Haiku and Alliteration,

What will I do? I cried with sheer desperation!

 

Screen and Haiku wasn’t too bad,

But Alliteration made me sad,

Even then I made an attempt,

Alliteration did  not let me  connect!

 

Next  Gift, Acrostic and Simile, showed up

I knew the first and the last,

But had no  clue what’s Acrostic,

@benhuberman kindly explained,

The first letter of each verse explains it.

 

Skin, Prose poetry and Internal rhyme followed,

What will I do with these I thought,

Hey I loved reading and reciting poetry,

Never did I think poets dealt with so much misery!

 

Imperfect, Limerick, enjambment,

Raised their head and proclaimed,

For this use your brother as a guinea pig,

There is none better my mind declared!

 

Map, Ode and Metaphor,

Danced a wicked dance as I watched them,

In my dream the M and O fell off their head

What was left was Ap, De and Etaphor!

 

Day six introduced,

Faces, Poetry and Chiasmus,

My vocabulary for these,

Was totally reduced!

 

Day Seven, I presumed I was in heaven,

Until I saw Neighborhood, Ballad, and Assonance.

I woke up, to my surprise  and  found,

Them guys were looking at me and counting SEVEN!

 

Eight screamed: Flavor, Elegy and Enumeratio,

I said wait a minute young Horatio!

I know why you are on my tail,

I need to repeat all of the above you wail!

 

@huberman,@ pollock and the WordPress team,

Can you give me another chance ?

I promise I’ll correct my follies,

I promise I will never try to scream!

………………………………. 🙂

 

 

Writing 201, Poetry, Day :7

Day: Seven

Today’s theme: Neighborhood

Today’s form: Ballad

Today’s device: Assonance

My street is open and is wide,

My house is in the corner.

But the driveway is  so  narrow,

You’d have to park your car on the side!

 

It doesn’t bother me at all,

For I have friends on both sides,

They often call me and inquire,

If I need anything from the  mall!

 

At first I did not like this house,

It was not what I wanted,

My husband convinced me,

It’s the one that God has granted!

 

Now that I’m living here,

I must admit, my friends are:

Those most encouraging folks,

Whose  love I cannot find elsewhere!

……………………….. 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

writing 201: Poetry, Day 6: Faces, Found Poetry,Chiasmus

Today’s form: found poetry

Today’s device: Chiasmus

Theme: Faces

Our Prophet said, “do not live to eat;

It is better if you eat to live.”

It not only makes you healthy,

It saves humanity from hunger.

Sharing food gives us dividends,

Our name is entered,

In the book of good deeds!

 

When we see hungry faces,

It’s our duty to wipe off those traces.

We were meant to help each other,

So we can live peacefully together!!

Writing 201:Poetry—- Weekend Potluck

Below is the poem I love. I memorized it when I was in third standard. Our teacher who was a Nun, encouraged us to memorize poems by famous poets, which we used to recite in our class.

A Psalm Of Life

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

TELL me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream!—
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.
Life is real! Life is earnest!	5
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.
Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;	10
But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us farther than to-day.
Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating	15
Funeral marches to the grave.
In the world’s broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!	20
Trust no Future, howe’er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act,—act in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o’erhead!
Lives of great men all remind us	25
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time;
Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,	30
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.
Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,	35
Learn to labor and to wait.

 

I like all the verses, my favorite is the last verse. Here he sums it up by asking his readers to try their best to do everything to be successful.

Writing 201: Poetry,Day 5:map, ode, metaphor

Assignment: Today’s form:Ode

Device: Metaphor

Subject: Map

Metaphors are making me ill,

Truthful I am listen and be still.

I have to deal with map ,

which is sitting on my lap.

And think of this which is an ode,

It is already making me a toad!

Now I will attempt my assignment, the above is a warm-up, before I exercise my feeble brain!!

Oh my city ! You are so windy and bold,

I wish you were peaceful for me to behold.

Daily I’m perplexed with your uncanny weather,

You love to see me shiver and suffer.

 

City of hills, winding roads and fashionable cars,

A small one though, but it’s proud of its bars.

The jolly old folks have many stories to tell,

If you are patient and have no fear of a belle.

 

Still as I observe each new and old scene,

How much change is now, and what it had been.

I wonder at times if the chilly air,

Will take me away to a land that is fair!

……………………………. 🙂

 

 

 

Writing 201: Poetry, Day Four: Imperfect, Limerick, Enjambment

Today , write a poem about the imperfect nature of someone or something.

Today’s form: Limerick

Device : Enjambment

Poetry: Imperfect

Brother, you claim, you’re  the picture of perfection

but, you cannot   live up to our expectation,

What good is your claim

when, you put us all   into  shame

Dear brother the picture of perfection!

 

Just the other day, he said, ‘yo, Ranu

your friend, named Banu

you say,is an amazing  girl

I , watched her  fall when she tried to twirl

Your amazing friend Banu!’

 

I kid you not dear brother

your skill, I’d rather

not, bring up

this, your attempt  to balance the cup

broke , was  a poor spectacle, my perfect brother!

………………………….. 🙂

Writing 201: Poetry, Day three— Skin, prose poetry, internal rhyme

For today’s poem , choose whatever meaning of “skin” speaks to you most.

Today’s theme: Skin

Form: Prose Poetry

Device:  internal rhyme

I think of my skin as a  cover that holds my skeleton in place. For this reason I must give the look of wisdom, even though I cannot fathom.

One day I was told my skin is pale,my husband took me to the doctor, who advised, she is anemic she must  eat liver or go for operation. ‘Operation I exclaimed is this your suggestion?’

‘ It’s the only option,’  he said.

I made a fuss, ‘he said we will discuss when you listen to us.’

I opted to eat liver to live forever. This is my story of affliction which I now treat with caution!

……………………………. 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

Writing 201: Poetry, Day one

Poetry 201, day one: Today, write a poem about/against /in homage to the screens in your life.

Today’s form: haiku

my fate’s  hazy screen

reminds me of good and bad

things I faced in life!

…………………… 🙂