Rants, Art and Literature

  Prompt: 16) Blood My blood and I are so alike, That I should have a bloody name; But to the common, this absurdity, Needs to be explained. In my body my blood boils, Flows and runs through my veins: Just the way bubbling thoughts, Pop in and out off my brain. If I'm too happy ever, You'll see my cheeks and ears: Redden at the incoming wave Of rosy and gay front row viewers. But if my finger's pricked, The raging blood oozes out, And in the harsh world outside: It clots and freezes in a drop. In a parallel path I see, What struggles out through my teeth: The dried up carcass of some words— My ideas strangled at birth! Author’s thoughts ‘My Blood and I’ is a poem about the similarities I find between myself and blood. It’s an attempt to step away from overused metaphors and subverting expectations about a poem about the prompt “blood” while experimenting with a style of poetry I haven’t consciously tried before. I have a gig on Fiverr where I’ll write a poem for you on any

  Prompt: 15) Attitude My attitude towards life is simple: It's the time between birth and death— A sequence of events from your first cry, All leading to death; But these moments are what count: What you choose and what you don't; Your attitude towards all that comes your way, Your attitude towards the people in your life. Author’s thoughts ‘Life’ is a poem about one’s attitude towards life. I don’t have much to say about this because I didn’t like the poem myself. But as per the disclaimer, I can post bad poems. So, I’m sorry if you’re disappointed because I couldn’t write anything else. I have a gig on Fiverr where I’ll write a poem for you on any topic you want. You can find that gig  here  if you are interested in availing my service. This prompt is given by Trisha Saha.

  Prompt: 14) Distress The pain and distress you feel, When tumbling down from the hill, Is far greater than when you climbed it. When you climb you have a goal in mind, And then if you stop to look behind: You will be happy at how far you've come. Then the pain in your feet, And the distress of the heat, Will feel like challenges you're going to overcome. But when you've reached the peak, The scent of victory you'll lick: But you forget that there's no way but down. Then you'll trip on an abandoned shoe, And come tumbling down, as if you never flew, You'll scream, terrified. Your hands would try to grab on to: Rocks, branches and anything would do: But they'd all slip because of the sweat on your palms. You'll get caught in thorns and bushes, Try to exert futile pushes, To steady yourself, but alas. Now you've fallen, hurt and pained, And just look at what you've gained: Scratches, bruises and hairline fractures. Author’s thoughts “The Distr

  Prompt: 13) Grass On a mild winter morning, I stepped outside, "Marvellous," I cried in delight! Green and green stretched from eye to eye, Even the maroon roses were made shy: At the soft feathery sight of the grass, Waving their arms in a morning rush. Their crowns were bejeweled with little dewdrops, Danced like royals, these peasant crops. I kicked off my boots in a frenzied passion, Hiked up my frock in most unladylike fashion, And ran to sink into the prickly green: The carpet of the Nature Queen! Author’s thoughts I do not particularly like nature poetry, but it has been something that I have always wanted to try. With “Grass”, I tried to bring out the beauty of the grass on a mild winter morning of India. I have a gig on Fiverr where I’ll write a poem for you on any topic you want. You can find that gig  here  if you are interested in availing my service. This prompt is given by Souradeep Das.

  Prompt: 12) Oblivion If there exists: heaven and hell, There should be a place we name: Oblivion,the forgotten one. If heaven is where the good go, And hell where the evil's punished: Oblivion is a place where the neutral rot. If you in your worldly time, Have done no good or done no harm, Oblivion is the place for you. If friends said, scratching their heads, "Yeah, I don't know them very well," Well, friend, you're perfect for Oblivion. There you wouldn't remember your deeds, Just like in the World nobody did: Eternally you'll ask your name from strangers. Author’s thoughts Oblivion is the state of being forgotten. I have seen that there are characters all around us that live without doing any good OR bad. They live only for themselves. I have always wondered where this people went, to heaven or to hell! The idea for “Oblivion” comes from the  Asphodel Meadows  of Greek mythology where souls who haven’t committed significant crimes or got any honour or

  Prompt: 11) Bare I wish I could be like her— Spread myself on the pages: Words would outline my bare silhouette, While the punctuations carved out my features. But, alas! I'm not that bold, Where her bare body is gilded in gold, Mine is flimsy, falling apart, Even with chainmail armour! If I had the courage, or the boldness, To writhe naked in poems and songs, If I kissed you with the barest truth, Would you dare to kiss me back? Author’s thoughts I was quite influenced by Kamala Das’s poetry before writing this poem. The ‘her’ or ‘she’ refers to Kamala Das the poetess herself. She is known for her ‘Literary Striptease’ kind of confessional poetry and ‘Would you kiss me back?’ is primarily a poem about how I’m not bold enough to carry out this confessional mode of poetry. The body in line 5 refers to the personality and experiences of the poetess which she so confidently put to display. In the last four lines, I ‘think aloud’ about what would happen if I had the boldness to displ

  Prompt: 10) Physical Existence is the epitome of physicality, How the supernatural and metaphysical must pity: Our metal blood and our rattling bones, Our sparkling laughter or our gasping moans, The spit in our mouth, smelly and sticky, Our taste buds, that make us this picky; Little moles and freckled constellations, Our hot headed love and infatuations! Author’s thoughts When I was given the prompt ‘physical’, I’ll be honest, I hoped not to have to write on this. But after racking my brains about this, I settled on ‘Existence’ because you cannot really get more physical than existing. Physical beings such as us have many flaws for which the supernatural may pity us. But this flaws mean our existence and thus our physicality proves our existence. I have a gig on Fiverr where I’ll write a poem for you on any topic you want. You can find that gig  here  if you are interested in availing my service. This prompt is given by Suparna Ghosh.

  Prompt: 9) Solidity A foundation is what keeps you standing, It all depends on its solidity. What materials you used to build you up, What tools you broke and improvised, What ratio of cement and sand you mixed, How many nights did you go roofless? It's all about how you build you up, And the solidity of your foundation. Author’s thoughts At my wit’s end on what to write on this prompt, I had to resort to cliched building metaphors. ‘Build you up’ is not something I’m very proud of. It doesn’t need much explanation so I’ll not go into further details about it. Don’t get me wrong, there was nothing wrong with the prompt, yet the word seemed too foreign to my poetic vocabulary. It again reminded me that I have a lot to learn and a long way to write to. My poetic prowess is still under construction and in that way, this poem fits in personally with me. Even so, I believe that it could be a lot better and I couldn’t really do much justice to this prompt. I have a gig on Fiverr where

  Prompt: 8) Illusion The lavender smoke of the incense sticks, Rise up and coil into your lungs; The vigorous tolling of the bell, Strangely clashes with the drum. The priests are chanting rhythmic tunes, In an ancient long forgotten tongue; The empty bellied beggars sit outside, With open mouths and emptier souls. If God be here, God, how, How can you let your children starve? And if God be away, on some lame boy's cheeks: Why does the illusion in your name continue? Author’s thoughts ‘Two Questions to God’ is a short poem about the illusion some people create of God and the difference it has with the real definition of God. It doesn’t debate the existence of God, but asks Him why some people starve while some people are busy earning in His name. I have a gig on Fiverr where I’ll write a poem for you on any topic you want. You can find that gig  here  if you are interested in availing my service. This prompt is given by Suparna Ghosh.

Prompt: 7) Love Love is a heartbeat, Run astray. Love is your fingers, Fidgeting away. Love is the redness, Of your cheeks. Love is the sneaky, Hidden peeks. Love is the stolen glances, You try so hard to hide. Love is the battle between: Your heart and your mind. Author’s thoughts “Love is a Battle” is a poem about the symptoms of love. Love always makes you feel things like skipping heartbeats and makes you blush. It compels you too steal glances at your loved ones. But it also feels like a battle between your heart and brain. I have a gig on Fiverr where I’ll write a poem for you on any topic you want. You can find that gig  here  if you are interested in availing my service. This prompt is given by Moulima Bhoumik and Trisha Saha.

  Prompt: 6) Childhood With indomitable spirit and hair, We ran and ran and ran— One fell and scraped her knees! We paused as she got back up. Then with half torn off sleeves, We ran and ran and ran— One crashed into the fence we didn't know existed! We paused as he left for home. Then with dirt on our noses and hands, We ran and ran and ran— I don't know how far or for how long. But, when I stopped I was all alone. I smiled and thought about how We ran and ran and ran— With smiles and laughs and cries; Now I reminisce those motion blurred runs. Author’s thoughts We are always in too much of a hurry to grow up. It’s like a race. And in this hurry, we sometimes forget to enjoy our childhood and make only blurry memories. “Runs” is about a child growing up through this hurry and then reminiscing about their childhood. They realize that their childhood is blurry in their memory as they were too focused on growing up. But they still reminisce about their childhood and smile at the