a letter (to myself)

so you have dropped 

your shield 

of plastic of red and blue

& timid fists 

running away from the loud-mouths

in the playground

it was more pathetic in school

when no one wanted to play 

with you during recess time

you

speaking with a different tongue

growing up in a different part of the country

to them, you were a strange, foreign sounding girl

who hid in the library & empty classrooms-

a wild flower, with easily-trampled upon

petals

that time is done

i tell you now, that time will pass

like tides

people & events change all the time, 

what you didn't know was that

every insult & hurtful words

toughened your skin and gritted your teeth

as you grew up 

as an adult 

as a mother of your village

your voicebox became stronger 

everyday

you pick positive thoughts & vase them

on your table

you fly your flags & keep your boundaries

some days, you wish you are holding that

small shield - plastic of red and blue -

as if it was an amulet, armor or a sword

but then you remind yourself,

you've have made a shield over time-

its called self-love

self-care

self-respect

it's a river, all flowing 

within you

Posted for dVerse Poets pub - Handling Peer Pressure, hosted by Sanaa Rizvi.  The idea came to me when we gifted my grandson a plastic Captain America shield.   He was very happy to get it like it was a powerful real shield.   For myself, I am now able to handle any peer pressure.  It comes with time & a lot of experiences.  Thanks for your visits and comments.  

Just a note that dVerse will be going on a 2 week summer break and that we will be back on July 11.   

History Lessons

This land has a history

Of pretenders who crown themselves

rulers

Of tax people who believe

that gold currency is thicker than blood

Of ruthless charlatans

who proclaim -

follow my words and ask no questions 

This land has a history

Of idealist students & artists who said

honesty is the best policy

Of street protesters who

were arrested, silenced and killed

Of mothers whose children

were banished to reform schools

and returned with Samson-cut hair

A birth name is forgotten

A native tongue is lost

A folk song is never played

An umbilical cord to earth has been

forever severed

Who does this land belong to?

There is bounty for all 

Forests, seeds, fruits, flowers, lakes

But the puppetiers and despots

have changed the script

and rewritten history to suit the fate lines

on their palms

I write to you

young people of this land:

hear the sadness of matriarch elephants

listen to the loneliness of ancient trees

take heed of the whale song from the sea

all that glitters is not gold

Heed my warning:  

Those who do not learn from history

are doomed to repeat it*

*Quote from George Santayana

Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - Meeting the Bar with guest host, Anna Montgomery.  Fall seven times, stand up eight where we explore aphorisms, myth, and fables by writing our own gnomic poetry. I have used maxims and aphorism in my poem.   

An invite to a party

 

Each guest will bring

A poetry book to read

To a garden party

Brimming with roses & tomatoes

Smell of peonies, spice of citrus

We will listen to each guest

Read the words

Of dead poets

Of living poets

Their own poems in draft format

It does not matter

This is not a euology

But a banquet of imagery & paradox 

Amidst tea cups and wine glasses

A valley grows with pear & apple trees

A cloud storm erupts with sunflower seeds

A lake shimmers with bluest of blues

We voice each spoken word with vibrancy

of buzzing bees

We will each have our turn 

with word salad, 

soup of alliterations,

and generous helpings of hyperbole

then, we will enjoy the dessert of 

exquisite haiku from Basho and Issa

Then each guest will select a book

from my bookshelves

or exchange poetry books with each other

To bring to their home

What a fun merry-go-round of books it will be!

The books will outlast us

eventually

At 6pm, the party will end

No goodbyes will be said

Only see you at the next one

On the way out, each guest

will receive  

thank you note with

my unfinished poem:

Twilight glows vivid violet & red-orange

“A certain butterfly is already on the wing.”

Quote:

• “A certain butterfly is already on the wing.” Vladimir Nabokov

Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - Words of Departure, Hosted by Laura Bloomsbury.  Join us when the virtual pub doors open at 3pm EST.   Thank you.

under the painting of strawberry pink moon, you

 

write me 

bass drum robust lyrics

heart pounding swaying beat

moving limbs to salsa  

then a slow saxophone mood

scooping blues & easy guitar riffs

spooning us to drowsiness, a spell  

we add running-out-of-time kisses,

shiver of throbbing sun

in this cozy windowless room 

Posted for dVerse Poets Pub- Quadrille, hosted by Sanaa Rizvi.   This is a 44 word post with the chosen word, SPELL.  Join us when the pub doors open at 3pm EST.  Thanks for your comments.

Summer Meadow

the morning mist rolls away

budding blooms & sage leaves sway

summer blends the sky soft griege

painting everything so new:

field of violets, vulgar & vicacious

startled eyes of deers, clear as raindrop

meet our city's rust, filling the shadows

of our sadness & grief, time slows

our footprints fade amidst the wort 

our words mingle with wild flowers 

we discovered our peace & backs

in the silence of wayward tracks

we inhale the growing heat, blessed

that we have found a moment of rest

 

 by Carl Zimmerman, Deer in the Summer Meadow

Posted for dVerse Poets Pub- Sun, Sand, Storms and Celebrations:  Summer Ekphrastic, hosted by Merril D. Smith.  Join us when the virtual pub doors open doors open at 3pm EST.

my garden bed is buzzing

 

may your summer morning be bright

as purple salvia, flashier than eggplant

dangling from vine, lush & lethargic

may your garden flowers bloom

with spike of ginger & tantrum of cumin

as bees hum a hot peppery buzz

<an alarm goes off>

i wake up 

and there is a down-

pour, 

my garden boots are 

muddy greasy

Posted for dVerse Poets Pub- Meet the Bar with Dissonance, hosted by Bjorn Rudberg.  Join us when the pub doors open at 3pm EST.