What poetry hath done unto me

By Namratha Varadharajan

I stumbled into poetry. 

In fact, I stumbled into writing. I ventured into this world of words to gain some hands on knowledge on Digital marketing. Instead, I fell in love with writing. Somewhere along the way, I just found it in tune with myself to write in verse. And every time I rhymed, wrote a poem, I loved it just a little more. Today, I would like to share with you a few ‘snippets’ about ‘poetry and me’ from a newbie poet-in-the-making

A new lens

changing colours

A tree

sprouts a green leaf

draws first spring breath

is shined to glow

by incessant monsoon

dons an autumnal rust

for a dance in the wind

yellowed falls down

withering under the cold

brown buried in the ground

manure for tree.

I was blind. Before. I saw everything but did not really see anything. Maybe, I just saw it in a different way. How beautiful the world looks through a poet’s eyes! How much more is there to see! I notice the swirls in the rose, seemingly arranged hapazardly but then, it is perfection. I observe how each season is ushered in by a change in the wind and all the living creatures of the world move in tune with these changes. All, except one. Us, who seem to be moving in stark contrast to the rest of the world: occupying more than is ours, polluting, destroying without regret or even being conscious about it.

A record.

Hold on

the rise and fall of your breathe

in the soft glow of the night

makes me hold mine

Tight—

cause if I exhale

the moment will be broken

and the world will move on.

Poetry has helped me take stock of the world. Be more mindful. Along the way, I discovered the haiku, which usually is a record of an ‘instant’ or one  ‘occurrence’ in nature. But, for me, it helped me experience moments in their entirety. To quote an example: a moment with my new born son, stood still, filling up my soul. But, that put into words, in a poem, made it a memory I can revisit, as and when I pleased.

effect change:

your palm on my lips

your palm on my lips

I don’t need it

I choose to be silent

only if I will.

At the core of my being, I believe poetry should be used to make an impact change. One cause close to my heart is equalism: to create a world where every woman, man, child, of all races, castes, sects, colours, sexual orientation have the same rights and freedoms. I would love to write impactful poetry to effect the changes that this world urgently needs, or rather needed yesterday.

writing Poetry but for whom?

Painting visions in the air

words drop down on me

hard—

in a torrential downpour of ideas

that won’t stay bottled in

will seep through the cork

splash onto the paper

painting visions

even when there are no eyes to see.

I would be lying if I said I didn’t want readers. I do. Every writer does. Is it marketable? I don’t know yet. I am too new in the field. A noticable trend in poetic circles is that there are a select few who write, read and appreciate poetry. It is disheartening to say the least. Fiction or non-fiction have their set of takers. However, poetry is at best viewed as something beyond the common ‘man’, and mostly its existence is just ignored or forgotten. But, by a few. Correct me if I am wrong.

In fact, the last time I had rubbed shoulders with poetry was all the way back in school. Until I stumbled into its loving arms. Here is a wish for the world, that more people start reading and inculcating poetry into their lives. For it touches you, enriches you from within in ways no other type of literature can.

Namratha Varadharajan is blogger-in-chief at namysaysso.com. She co-hosts two blog-hops #WordSante and #MicroMondays. She is yet to define herself under any one type of literature or genre. She currently dabbles in poetry, flash fiction, and day-to-day musings and enjoys them all. 

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