#Prompt 1 – 2023
Troubled Wings
A darkness of ravens
Harbingers of evils
Past and present
Encircle the night
Battling archaic enchantments
Awaiting a new dawn
[Inspired by the image]
Survivors
He saw me
He saw me with scars over my eyes
Gauged by those who would keep me down
He saw the hemorrhaging from a thousand cuts
He saw the weight of a life in service
To a band of emotional thieves
He wrapped a cloak of healing around my battered being
Listened with great intent
And stayed because he could see the layer beneath
In time I could see the outline of a man with a looming past
Aching and reaching for his soul’s lifeboat
As the waters of doubt swirled and threatened
To take him down at last
Paddling together, We reach the shore
Of a partial island with scarce supplies
Only enough to sustain what life was left
1 soggy
rain again brings up
metal roof tappings
muddy moments near the door
woodchucks moved away
overgrown green madness
visiting flowers now seen
leaves reaching and waving
over windows this new view
tall lean pines appear sad
as lower limbs lose color
hoping for a new year
with sunshine lasting
An Anaphora for Frank
“The past draped about us like a cloak.” Diana Khoi Nguyen
I don’t want to fall out of love with you.
A chapter of my life
I don’t want to end.
It’s over
you’re gone
and all I have is this empty page.
My emotions spill across these lines
like blood spewing.
Ooze out my metaphors
as my heart races.
With a syringe of similes
I can express my secret crush
now public.
Your body now disintegrates
inside a box in the ground,
but your spirit is everywhere.
I wake and vision your face
deep eyes and thick hair.
Closing my eyes
hear the sound of your voice
raspy fresh as this morning’s dew.
I don’t want to fall out of love with you.
This letting go chokes me,
I resist tears.
The hardest part of greatness
is it’s ending.
The most difficult ending
is said without a goodbye.
For Chana
You look so pretty,
even unconscious.
Your life has been been complicated
by choices
your own
and others you depended upon.
I am hoping heaven’s gate
looks as welcoming as this image.
leading you home with a well lit,
clearly marked path.
Some of your life
seems to have not had a clear path.
Childhood was interlaced
needs unmet
by fragile parents,
and foster parents
you were unprepared to trust
or befriend.
This image would give you the
“just for you” entryway
that might appeal.
Go into that light, trust that heaven
has a crowd of loved ones hiding
because Jesus will hug you first.
The Past
Do we
Can we
Drop our past
Let it drop
Like a cloak
Silkenly
Silently
To the ground
Shed our skin
To be reborn
cracking out
Of our dry and dusty
Layers
Do we
Can we
Become new
By ridding ourselves
Of old.
Coming and Going (poem 1)
One goes,
Another comes,
Life goes on,
A seed sown today
A plant grown tomorrow
A memory from the day someone was lost
At the edge of a field, kneeling down in the grass
A form of remembrance on his death anniversary
As mother and daughter shed tears on their yearly visit
Grief
I
now know
what heartbroken means
Ireland
my seventeen
year companion passed
In
my arms
breathing her last
Eyes
unseeing no
longer sparking life
I
clutched her
to my breast
I
cried tears
my heart breaking
Her
lifeless body
laid to rest
Ireland
forever in
my heart – RIP
(Hour 01) 10.30-11.30pm. TEXT PROMPT: adapting a line/image from Diana Khoi Nguyen’s poem “Selkie Weaning Young (Redux)”
finding them hiding
i don’t know how Rueben
knew they were there
but he did somehow sensing
he’s always been good
with live things
bringing home frogs & birds
& countless other creatures
to the safety of his heart
before always … letting them go
awkward realisation
when did my little bro
become my teacher
“English is mind-blowing”
English is prominently a hilarious language,
To rise above challenges at any stage.
Ignite the spark of creativity,
You will be called witty.
Play with your imagination,
While making India a blooming nation.
The use of slang & phrases amazes me,
Learning this modern speech blemishes thee.
Enrich current vocabulary,
Develop reading as a hobby.
The library is like a knowledge junction,
Which book will I read?
I rarely mention it.
Saving myself, from falling into a pit.
Amateurs in proficiency,
Keen for job vacancy.
Communication will change personality,
Obstacles are just, challenges to overcome as my responsibility.
Fluency in writing requires coherence,
Expressing our emotions is patience.
Newspapers are thought-provoking,
Headlines and content are eye-catching.
It is my favourite subject,
That makes people connect.
(c) preksha puri 2023.