Rants, Art and Literature

  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: 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: 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: 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

  Prompt: 4) Perseverance A storm was coming her way, The dark clouds laughed at her: A deep rumbling laughter! The lightning flashes were scary, What light was not supposed to be; She'd been more afraid of the dark. The wind pulled at her hair, And her blue, bright dress, Urging her to stop. You ask, "did she stop?" I dry my drenched hair and blue dress. "No, she persevered." Author’s thoughts ‘Storm’ is a short and simple poem about how the poetic persona persevered through the storm. Association of battling a storm and perseverance is nothing new to the point of being cliche. But it is overused because it is an effective comparison. So, that is what I used to write about today’s prompt. 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 Sarajit Sen.

Prompt: 2) Glimpse All I caught was a glimpse, today, A glimpse is all I caught— Of the dimpled cheeks, messy hair; Oh! The memories you brought! I caught a glimpse of us, again, From the deeper depths of my brain: We were happy (or so I thought), We giggled, we danced in the rain! And the most dangerous glimpse I caught, Of a future we could've had: I'm glad you got the courage to leave, I'm thankful, from the bottom of my heart! Author’s thoughts ‘Three Glimpses Into Time’ is a poem of heartbreak and moving on from failed love. It is not always possible to understand if one is compatible with the other person. The heart wants what it wants and oftentimes we need our brain to interfere. In this poem, the poetic persona is reminded of their seemingly happy past with their beloved because they catch a glimpse of the beloved in passing. But then, they think of how the future would look like if they’d still be together. They decide, that it was better that the beloved left whe

"হ্যালো, দীপকদা?" বিভিন্ন স্থানে, বিভিন্ন সময়ে, বিভিন্ন গলার স্বরে ঠিক এই প্রশ্নটির সম্মুখীন হতে হয়েছে আমাকে। একদিন পড়তে বসছি। টেবিলের উপর সাজিয়ে রাখছি ইয়া মোটা মোটা ফিজিক্স বই দুটো, চার-পাঁচটা নোটসের খাতা, রংবেরংয়ের পেন, হাইলাইটার— মানে গুচ্ছের জিনিস যা আদৌ লাগবে না তবে গুছিয়ে রাখছি যাতে সময়টা ফাঁকি মারা যায় আর কি! চেয়ারে সবে বসেছি সুবোধ বালিকার মতো। বেজে উঠলো ওঘরে রাখা ফোনটা। "টিং টিং টিং টিং..." আওয়াজে লাফিয়ে উঠতে হলো। ছুটে গিয়ে ধরলাম ফোনটা। "হ্যালো?" একটা খসখসে ছেলে গলা বলে উঠলো, "হ্যালো, কে বলছেন?" আজব তো! আমাকে ফোন করে আমাকেই জিজ্ঞেস করছে আমি কে! "আপনি কাকে চান?" কিছু মিনিটের স্তব্ধতা... তারপর কাটা কাটা গলায় ভেসে এলো "... লো?... হ্যা... লো? হ্যালো, দীপকদা?" "না, রং নাম্বার।" — বলে কেটে দিলাম ফোনটা। এইরকম কাটা কাটা সিগনালের মধ্যে আমাদের প্রথম মোলাকাত। তখন কি আর বুঝেছিলাম, এ একটা যাত্রার শুরু মাত্র।