OUR ORIGINAL POETRY: Share It Here
Hello there everyone!
If you're reading this it means that you probably are quite fond of poetry and writing it to. This is a thread to post all and any poetry that you may have, be it happy, sad, angry or just silly. All styles are welcome (free verse, couplets, slam) and it would be great to have at least one poem up a day for all of us to enjoy together!!
There are a lot of listener poems over on the Ice Breakers - Writer's Club section also. Here's a link. If we can consolidate all the poetry that would be wonderful. I don't have the know-how, or I would volunteer to do it.
http://www.7cups.com/forum/ListenersOnlyForums_38/IceBreakers_64/WritersClub_1506
Graduates:
As with my other submission on Writers Club, this one has oodles of Sanskrit, but I hope it's still enjoyable for everyone. Thanks for all you do!
Graduation
(In this Monody the Author bewails the separation of learned Friends, having graduat'd the third year at Sri Rupanuga Paramarthika Vidyapitha, Mayapura Dhama, 2014. And by occasion foretells the ruin of corrupted societal misleaders, then in their height.)
Yet once more, bitter Nimba, and once more
O Banyan proud, with creepers ever-near,
I circumabulate your holy brood,
And with heavy hand crude,
Sever your leaves to present a garland dear.
Too early, yet this sad occasion here
Impels me to truncate your growth anew:
For graduation's here, here in no time,
Graduation, which stole away all cheer:
Which devotee won't raise a cry and hue?
Having studied the sastras all the time,
They can't just drift away into the air
Unsung, and turned out to the wilderness,
Before offering a beverage of lyric tear.
Begin then, denizens beyond this shell,
Which being lowdown has but death to bring,
Begin sweet sankirtan with voice and string.
So with hope against hope, to kind induce,
The Vaisnavas clues.
With mercy glances, give lessons to learn,
Needing sanga we burn,
Your sunlight dispell this confusion cloud.
For we all came by compassionate will,
Fed the same cows upon Govardhan Hill.
Together, though far, our services rear'd,
Benath Suryadev, Hailed the eye of morn.
We worked our fields, and all together heard
When sandhya-arati blows his conchshell horn,
Refreshing our hearts with katha at night,
Oft' times till the ev'n-starre, which rose bright
Toward svarga's feet retreated from his heel.
Meanwhile bhajans glorified Krishna's flute,
With khol-kartal to boot,
Grey Langurs dashed, leaving fruits all unpeeled
To that kirtan; they wouldn't miss a song,
And the oxen would oft' times sing along.
O but the heavy change, graduation
Graduation, to devastation turn!
O Srivasangan, Godruma, Goshal,
With tulsi bushes, and cintamani stone,
All these, as echoes mourn.
The coconut and countless date palms, green,
It's like they've never been
Decorating the courtyards and walkways.
As bloody painful as the mosquitoes,
Or Ringworm's aureole, dolorous face,
Or heatwaves leaving only madness to wear,
'Till the first thunder glows;
Such, friends, is your leaving us behind here.
Where were you Sarasvati, dark and deep
When these singers and students flew from us?
For neither were you on Ajodhya's steep
Where your lotus, and famous Swan lie,
Nor on the chakra top of Chandroday,
Nor even next to Ganga's winding stream:
But what's the use to dream?
Even if you were, what would it have done?
What could Laxmi herself whom all adore,
Laxmi herself, fortune cancala spun
Who casts her Durga shadow, She hell bent
When misers build castles intended to soar,
Their ghastly limbs down Vaitarani rent,
Dead 8 million times just to come here once more.
Oh God! What's the point in devoted care,
To stand within the light and yet dismayed,
And staunchly follow our acaryas' cues,
What more relief than to fondly refuse,
Instead to dance with Gaia in the glade,
Lost in the tendrils of green and smoke there?
Recognition attracts the pious man's gaze
(A shadow cast by the lamplight behind)
To pass austere nights and hardworking days;
But when we expect the reward to find,
And patiently wait for its shining rays,
Comes Yamaraja with th' entropic shears
And slits the cord of life. And then the praise.
Surya repli'd, and warm'd my deafen'd ears;
The plant of fame grows in no mortal soil,
Nor from the gem nor oil
reflecting th' world, nor in flattering lies,
But only in the reddish lotus eyes,
That always see Krishna in Vraja's grove;
As His flute song conducts their every deed,
His is the fame toward which you should speed.
O Fountainhead Krishna, Thou nectar flood,
Godmother Ganga, from Your toe proceeds,
You Devadeva, we have understood:
By our thoughts words and deeds,
Next I listened to Varunadev's plea
Which acquitted him free,
He searched the waves and questioned Vayu's winds,
What has caused the graduates to be twain?
From gliding aquatics to lofty wings
Skirting the sky and earth in double glory
They knew not the story,
Then Great Garuda the defense brings,
That no ill wind had from the sky dome stray'd,
Nor from venomous serpents in the brine,
Then gave his conjecture: We we're afraid.
Perhaps that foolish and deceptive mark,
Irresolute determination dark,
Is troubling those sorry heads of thine.
Next spake Jalangi, Sarasvati's flow,
Her shores bamboo forests, and bowers hedge,
Bedecked with temple rims, and on the edge
Like the blue lilly flower: Rare to know.
Who has the answer on which we can pledge?
Then, first and last to show,
That Pilot residing in inner space,
Conchshell disc club and lotus bourn amain
(Narada Muni warbl'ing His refrain)
He spoke these words, all ignorance to break:
Gladly I could've trad'd for you who train,
Many of those who for some power's sake,
Don tilak to dhoti as die-cast mould.
No other reason this to undertake,
But being first to taste a sponsor'd feast,
And elbow aside the intended guest.
Blind mouths! Drink in the youth, spit out the old.
Taking only the belly of the priest,
And their shephard's hooks belie triune prongs!
What do they care? Why keep them? They are dead;
And when they scat their jazzy bhojan songs
With Ibanez Double Axe tragic flaw,
The devotee can only scratch his head,
And freezing his heart not daring to thaw,
Numbed inwardly, else the contagion spread:
Fortunate are those who escape the maw,
Where countless are glut, that they may be fed,
But inattention gazes evermore,
Dreaming their future and bolting the door.
It's alright now Ganga, hard times are past,
Which whittled your waves, come hither infuse
All of the plains with your life giving dews,
Glimmering prisms of intricate hues.
Dear dust of the dhama which blesses our shoes,
Your glories uncaptured by volumes of books,
On whose countance each devata looks,
May they cast their sweet influencing eyes,
That green grass may thrive on nectar showers,
And purple your face with jubilant flowers.
Bring the rath cart and earth pigment dyes,
For Jagannatha Yatra cheering all men,
Kadamba, Champak and Bakula Sweet
To deck the chariot.
Punnagas, and the Kovidara, fine
With butterflies standing as if painted,
Kundas and Kurabakas with white flairs:
Tell Kantakini her dates should be spread,
And Malati blossoms dew dropped like tears,
But of joy, for that separation-curse
Which brought us to our knees,
Has become a blessing to our surprise.
Ohe! Whilst we were trapped by our decrees
Writhing in those false-ego blankets, curl'd,
We whispered self-fulfilling prophecies,
Mayhap our friends we will remain beside
Or drift seperately around the world;
These their chilly morning, those warm inside
These dancing madly, those making gold,
Breaking miopy, ascending the Mount
Just see our lifeline and finally behold;
That paramahamsa speaking the truth.
Just as Dolphins swim in Ganga uncouth
Weep no more, Vidyapithis weep no more,
For actually we're not separated,
Spaced though we be by some land or by shore,
Each night the sun sets below the sea bed,
And yet every morning returns ahead,
And glints his rays, and wakes us once more,
Casting out darkness from the vault of sky:
So we may say farewell, but not goodbye.
By the mercy of him who taught the waves
Of bhakti and carried us all along,
With Nectar pure speaking, (our hearts he laves),
He revived our sense of what's right and wrong,
And so he joined us by inseprable love.
Together, left, right, below or above,
Regardless of any varieties
We are with him, and with his glory move,
So wipe off the tears from each of your eyes.
Come out of the darkness, to light implore;
For as the rabbit moon reflects offshore,
So in a simple heart he also could
Enough is said, it should be understood.
Thus spake the rustic sage sufficient thrills,
While the dirt road court'd his convey,
He rang out the kartals with dext'rous skills,
With Krishna in mind, he chanted his way:
And Surya enamel'd now all the hills,
And now was sunk into the Bengal bay;
Then last, as first, converted black to blue:
Tomorrow to start a journey anew.
i found a peace unknown to my world. it was at the bottom of a bottle. i found it at the end of a cigarette. i found it in the red of a blade. i found it in the tightness of the rope around my neck. i found solace in the idea of an endless sleep
Is This What Love Feels Like?
We eat each others coughs like syrup, pressing
our fingertips against each other like leeches, I
wonder if this is what love feels like. Leaving our
lighters in each others spines, always forgetting
to lock the door behind. Even the drugs can?t do
this. The stash of condoms in shoe boxes from
when I was sixteen, two mouths now painted red.
Is this what love feels like? The split ends of my
hair are screaming. I am medusa, biting my nails
but never my tongue. I am a wildfire, burning
through the both of us like sin. If my mother were
here, she would ask about the plants. Is this what
love feels like? Always asking the world for more.
Not being able to pay the rent, but always finding
the money for champagne. French films did not
warn me for this. The way your name tastes like
honey on my mouth, touching my tongue like
poetry. Your skin should be hanging in museums,
your eyes floating through space. Shafts of your
knee?s are beginning to touch, my shoulder blades
are collapsing. Is this what love feels like? Opening
each others mail. Never knowing what to do with
goodbye. Toss the word out on the street like a
dirty whore. I am starting to think we are made out
of clay, I can feel you in my bones, you are welcome
to stay.
@JannaD, stunning images!! And an overall compelling intensity. Thank you for posting your poem.
Wandering the enigmatic vessesl of hollow space, such a wayward path bestowed I breathe such dust of an ancient skin, and exhale the dirts to pave the newest path before me Soon the stars are contrived, and manifest above and below, emanating slow accumulating waves of light running along the air like the sweet nectar of an elder honeycomb aged like heavens wine I only taste the dust that I once was as the metamorphosis of the universe casts the moths wings above my vessel roads, and I am forsaken, yet delivered
•Wandering the enigmatic vessesl of hollow space, such a wayward path bestowed
Things I Will Never Do
(Free Verse)
Never experience butterflies in my stomach when I meet her
Never get up the courage to approach her
Will never have our first kiss
Never bring her home to meet my parents
Will never fall in love with her
Never hold her in my arms after our first night together
Will never wake up thinking of her, not wanting to wait for the night to dream of her
Never whisper in her ear for the first time... I love you
Will never on bended knee put our future around her finger
Never carry her over the threshold into our dream house
There will be no white picket fence and dog in the backyard
Never have her jump into my arms ecstatically with news?.
We are going to have a baby!!!!
Never hold my newborn son in my arms
Never watch his first steps, hear his first word
I will never hold his hand on his first day of school
I will never scare the monsters out of his room when he can?t sleep
I won?t pass on the words of wisdom that my father passed on to me
Never give my son the keys to the car as he takes his first steps to independence
I will never teach my son how to treat a woman like a lady
Will never watch my son go off to College wondering if I taught him everything he needed to know
Will never grow old with my soul mate
Will never enjoy my last years with her as we spend each day together
I will never experience the most wonderful moments that life has to offer?but believe me?.youshould.
@Darryl99, This poem is poignant and beautiful. The list of memorable events in a man's life could feel like a list of cliche's but it doesn't -- it somehow transcends and becomes heart-openingand then heart-stinging.Thank you for posting it here.
Thank you so much, I happy you liked it!!
I made this myself xx
I left the bad things behind
My sad past is closed.
Now i only have scars to remind me
Of the battles I?ve fought.
But i choose to move on
Today begins a new chapter of my life
I?m staring at a blank page
Not knowing what to write.
I?m so scared
My head is a mess
I still don?t know what to do
I just want some happiness.
I?m staring at a blank page
Not knowing what to write
But one thing i know:
I?m gonna win this fight.
Dear @LaraMSilva, For me, the repetition of the "I" statements at the beginning of each stanza lends a nice rhythm and unity to the poem. And I love the theme of this poem--Iove the hope and optimism expressed.
What it's like to me to have bpd
i scream in silence within myself
as I out my heart on a shelf...
what I see in the mirror is a joke
i wanna cigarette yet I don't smoke
i go up and down around and around
a swirl of emotions I can't calm down
feeling rage and joy
really oh boy...
multitasking at full force
I can be happy and feel remorse ...
Living With The Thoughts
When we first met,
Things were joyful and happy,
So many memories were made,
All seemed perfect.
We were happy together,
It was like it would last forever,
The love was strong,
The connection even stronger.
Months went by,
Didn't think it could get any better,
You by my side,
Nothing could stop me.
Till one day,
A grave mistake tore us apart,
The pain and regret never ended,
Now only sadness remains.
For all the memories of us are building,
Like self torture for what happened,
Constant pain and reliving that mistake,
For it won't end.
Many months passed,
Thought it was over,
Oh how wrong I had been,
It was never over.
Night after night,
Day after day,
Spent reliving every moment,
Causing immense pain.
For those deep feelings still exist,
Forgiveness would be too much,
The deep connection still alive,
Shattered but alive.
For the thoughts never end,
They will always come back,
Each day spent,
Living with the thoughts.