Apr 26, 2016 NaPoWriMo, Original Poetry
Hear Not the Call; Do Not Respond
©April 26th, 2016
By Vijaya Sundaram
Come, fly the skies with roaring cries!
We shan’t, we won’t, O Thunderbolt!
Oh come, release the tops of trees!
But you’ll not win, O Typhoon winds!
Let’s burn the shade from all these glades!
Oh, that’s not done, O blazing sun.
Let’s churn the seas into boiling tea
We shall refrain, O Hurricane!
Let’s split the heaven with flashes seven
We’ll all revolt, O Lightning bolt!
We’ll come in peace, make tumult cease
We’ll take a stand, and save this land.
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My first response to today’s NaPoWriMo prompt (Day 26 )
And last, but not least, our prompt (optional, as always). Today, I’d like to challenge you to write a poem that incorporates a call and response. Calls-and-responses are used in many sermons and hymns (and also in sea chanties!), in which the preacher or singer asks a question or makes an exclamation, and the audience responds with a specific, pre-determined response. (Think: Can I get an amen?, to which the response is AMEN!.). You might think of the response as a sort of refrain or chorus that comes up repeatedly, while the call can vary slightly each time it is used …
… The call can be longer than the response, or vice versa. But think of your poem as an interactive exchange between one main speaker and an audience. Happy writing!
Tags: #CallandResponsePoetry, #Couplets, #OriginalPoetrybyVijayaSundaram
Apr 15, 2016 NaPoWriMo, Original Poetry
Photograph of Vijaya Sundaram, ©Warren Senders, 1990
Split-Image
©April 15th, 2016
By Vijaya Sundaram
And who might you be, who’s peering at me
As I lace my fingers through curtains three?
Your face is familiar, and rings a bell,
And your eyes follow me,– casting a spell.
I’ve walked very far to come to this place,
I’ve left things behind, I’ve been a disgrace.
I rejected the future and dumped my past,
And here I stand, in astonishment vast.
There once was a girl, and I am the same
Who came from Elsewhere, and who had no name.
She sloughed off her Selves, and grew a new skin,
And wearied of everything she’d ever been.
I am she whom you’ve known since time was new –
Now, in my mirror, you’ll see yourself true.
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Here’s the NaPoWriMo prompt for today:
And now for our prompt (optional, as always). Because today marks the halfway point in our 30-day sprint, today I’d like to challenge you to write a poem that incorporates the idea of doubles. You could incorporate doubling into the form, for example, by writing a poem in couplets. Or you could make doubles the theme of the poem, by writing, for example, about mirrors or twins, or simply things that come in pairs. Or you could double your doublings by incorporating things-that-come-in-twos into both your subject and form. Happy writing!
Tags: #Couplets, #Double-Images, #Mirrors, #OriginalPoetrybyVijayaSundaram, #sonnet
Dec 9, 2013 Original Short Stories
Tags: #Couplets, #Original Poem, #Procrastination, chores, Ditty, panic, putting off, tasks, Work
Mar 27, 2013 Original Poetry
Pollen
©By Vijaya Sundaram
March 27th, 2013
_________________________________________________________
My dry eyes sting —
Could this be spring?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The End~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Burgeoning
©By Vijaya Sundaram
March 27th, 2013
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Faces are blooming.
No more glooming.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The End~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My Golden Rule
©By Vijaya Sundaram
March 27th, 2013
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Everyone matters.
Mend, don’t shatter.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The End ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tags: #Couplets, #Spring, Allergies, Golden Rule, Light Verse