Rants, Art and Literature

  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

  Prompt: 5) Bipasha Bipasha, you kind soul! You turned your waters into sand, once: To save thrice born Vasistha, Husband of Arundhati; Who tied himself with cords to drown in you. Bipasha, you were named cord breaker. Bipasha, you brave soul! You broke off the conquest of the great conqueror, The one from Macedon. Away from home for eight long years— Perhaps you reminded the soldiers of their homeland! Or perhaps they were scared away by your rebellious waters! Bipasha, you lovely soul! Named after a mighty river, One flowing through the pages of history, Timeless, ageless! Great things are expected from you: Bipasha, make history your own! Author’s thoughts ‘Bipasha’ is a prompt suggested by my friend of the same name (though spelt differently). She reminded me that Bipasha is a river and I found out that it is a great river. I wanted to give the poem a grand tone, keeping the epics in mind, because the river is quite important to Hindu mythology and Indian history. Whether I’ve suc

  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: 3) Poetry How do I define poetry? I don't know. How do you define something that swims in your blood, But oozes out in ink, That the heart beats out, But the brain picks the words for, That is bold, yet soft, That is yours, yet mine? Poetry is confusing, Chaos in fixed meters and rhymes, Calm in blank and free verses, Heartbreaks in little haikus, Love stories in melodious sonnets! Poetry is everything you want it to be; Then, how do you define poetry? Author’s thoughts ‘How do I define poetry?’ is a poem on what poetry is to me. I truly believe, “poetry is everything you want it to be;” so, at the end, I pose the question, “how do you define poetry?” 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 .