This week has been all about poetry. And now I am addicted. With many readers of my last post (a poem) being both appreciative and encouraging, I found myself getting more and more interested in this genre of writing. Of course, I don’t really know whether they are just being kind, my readers or whether they actually like my work; nevertheless being bitten by the poetry bug, I think, I have at this moment a very serious disease called 'poetricaemia' (sic!).
I was never a poetry buff but this last week I did a lot of poetry reading, both the classic poets such as Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson and Robert Frost as well as the relatively modern poets like Mary Angelou and even Vijay Sarabhai, the man who won the 2014 Pulitzer for poetry. The classics of course retain their classical appeal but the modern writings were simply too cryptic for me. And this obscurantism is enhanced further by the modern poet’s obsession with free verse. In fact in many poems, the verse is so free that if you remove the stanzas and place the sentences in a single line, it is indistinguishable from plain prose. And very bad prose, I may add. The metaphors too are so obscure that it gives the impression that the value of a modern poem is based on the level of obscurity. But then, literature like clothes is a matter of one’s own individual tastes; and modern poetry can be likened to haute couture, something that need not have universal appeal.
Any way, it just so happened that a friend sent me a link to a poetry contest organised on the internet by a leading publication house. When I checked the contest rules I found them to be simple, a six lined rhyming poem on Love.The prospect of a shortcut to fame whipped me onto a poem composing spree and soon I had produced two poems in a matter of an hour, a no mean achievement. Of course, I did not win any prizes, not even a 'consolation' prize nor a 'commendable effort' mention. Though this did dampen my poetic enthusiasm but not for long. So here I am, ready to inflict 'factory seconds' (my rejected pieces) on my poor blog audience!
But before I post them, let me tell you the Terms of Reference or the rules of this poetry contest.
1. The poem was to be of ONLY six lines.
2. It had to be of the rhyming kinds. (No free verse here). Any rhyming scheme would do viz. ababab/aabbaabb/ababcdcd.
3. The theme was Love.
Easy and simple, don't you think?
Well here are my entries:
1. This was the first one:
ADORATION
I scan your face,
For Love's trace,
I delve into your eyes, deep.
Then when you smile,
Even if awhile,
I'm content, I sleep!
2. This was the second one. (A little cheeky, I know.)
To TOI BOOKS (They were the venerable Organisers)
In six lines bind Love??
'Tis impossible, methinks,
Even for the Great White Dove!
Instead, come set Love free-
With the White Dove, to glide,
Over Rhyme's lyrical sea......!
And these were the winners:
Do tell me the ones you like the best....
I was never a poetry buff but this last week I did a lot of poetry reading, both the classic poets such as Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson and Robert Frost as well as the relatively modern poets like Mary Angelou and even Vijay Sarabhai, the man who won the 2014 Pulitzer for poetry. The classics of course retain their classical appeal but the modern writings were simply too cryptic for me. And this obscurantism is enhanced further by the modern poet’s obsession with free verse. In fact in many poems, the verse is so free that if you remove the stanzas and place the sentences in a single line, it is indistinguishable from plain prose. And very bad prose, I may add. The metaphors too are so obscure that it gives the impression that the value of a modern poem is based on the level of obscurity. But then, literature like clothes is a matter of one’s own individual tastes; and modern poetry can be likened to haute couture, something that need not have universal appeal.
Any way, it just so happened that a friend sent me a link to a poetry contest organised on the internet by a leading publication house. When I checked the contest rules I found them to be simple, a six lined rhyming poem on Love.The prospect of a shortcut to fame whipped me onto a poem composing spree and soon I had produced two poems in a matter of an hour, a no mean achievement. Of course, I did not win any prizes, not even a 'consolation' prize nor a 'commendable effort' mention. Though this did dampen my poetic enthusiasm but not for long. So here I am, ready to inflict 'factory seconds' (my rejected pieces) on my poor blog audience!
But before I post them, let me tell you the Terms of Reference or the rules of this poetry contest.
1. The poem was to be of ONLY six lines.
2. It had to be of the rhyming kinds. (No free verse here). Any rhyming scheme would do viz. ababab/aabbaabb/ababcdcd.
3. The theme was Love.
Easy and simple, don't you think?
Well here are my entries:
1. This was the first one:
ADORATION
I scan your face,
For Love's trace,
I delve into your eyes, deep.
Then when you smile,
Even if awhile,
I'm content, I sleep!
2. This was the second one. (A little cheeky, I know.)
To TOI BOOKS (They were the venerable Organisers)
In six lines bind Love??
'Tis impossible, methinks,
Even for the Great White Dove!
Instead, come set Love free-
With the White Dove, to glide,
Over Rhyme's lyrical sea......!
And these were the winners:
Do tell me the ones you like the best....
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