Apr 2, 2016 Original Poetry, The Daily Post
In response to The Daily Post’s Daily Prompt for March 30th, 2016: Voice
Your Voice
©April 2nd, 2016
By Vijaya Sundaram
It is your voice that spells out
Home and shelter, and love,
And quiet certainty.
A conduit of beauty and song,
A channel of kindness, your voice
Allows things to flow.
I shall carry your voice
Like a cup of clear water
In the desert, when the desert comes,
Or a glowing flame in the night,
When darkness descends.
I shall hold it near my ear,
To hear better
Cup it near my eyes,
To see better
Pour it into a palm, and
Drink deep of its assurance.
I have need of it.
Thank you.
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Tags: #Daily Prompt, #Original Poetry by Vijaya Sundaram, #TheDailyPost
Mar 27, 2016 The Daily Post
In response to The Daily Post’s Daily Prompt: Edge
Pebble Games
©March 27th, 2016
By Vijaya Sundaram
She has an edge
They say,
He has an edge
They nudge each other
We need to smooth them down
They nod
Take all the sharpness out!
Round out the corners!
Make them smooth as a pebble,
Made small from rock!
Now, we can play with them
Pebble games!
Hold them in your palms.
Slap four down, toss one up.
Catch!
So smooth!
No cuts.
No cutting edge!
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Tags: #Daily Prompt, #Edge, #Original Poetry, #TheDailyPost
Mar 24, 2016 The Daily Post
In response to The Daily Post’s Daily Prompt: Help
Help Taken and Help Given
©March 25th, 2016
By Vijaya Sundaram
Help may be asked, and you may give it, but don’t expect thanks.
You may need help, and someone gives it, but do not forget.
It takes true freedom for people to thank you for helping them. Everyone things he or she is beholden to no one. And it takes true freedom for you to thank those who’ve helped you. In both cases, pride gets in the way. Shame gets in the way, as well.
Think before you offer help. What do you truly want out of it?
Think before you take help. Will you truly acknowledge it without fear of being thought weak or helpless?
Discard pride. Discard shame. Simply admitting you need help is a sign of strength.
Everything, including this realization, comes in its own time, and dawns on us when we are ready to acknowledge it:
All help given and all help taken connects us, one to the other, vast strands of life holding onto a tenuous, unseen rope-ladder of evolving goodness.
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Tags: #Acknowledging help, #Daily Prompt, #Help, #Thanking someone
Mar 24, 2016 The Daily Post
In response to The Daily Post’s Daily Prompt for March 23rd, 2016: Nerve
Neural Impulse, or: Echolocations
©March 24th, 2016
By Vijaya Sundaram
So many nerves, so many branches
Striving towards the others.
Even here, in this
Deepest, densest, convoluted
Folded forest beset with confusion,
Weary travellers cross
Vast distances with urgency
To touch another kindred cell.
So, too, we.
With our pixellated selves,
Our stories and songs,
Our responses, our feelings,
Our spilling of secrets
Into the ether, winging our
Solitary way into the vast night,
Hoping that another secret
Traveller will hear our
Echolocation.
Synaptic songs
Signalled stories
Nerve endings.
All here.
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Tags: #Communication, #Daily Prompt, #Nerve, #Travellers
Mar 21, 2016 Original Poetry, The Daily Post
For The Daily Post’s Daily Prompt: Friend
For My Dear Friend – You Know Who You Are
(A Simple Ditty)
©March 21st, 2016
By Vijaya Sundaram
My love for my friend.
Is so simple, so right.
My love doesn’t end,
Or fade in daylight.
When I’m blue or gray
And my thoughts go astray,
When I’m down and out
And filled with much doubt,
She’s there by my side
And her love abides.
And when she needs me
I’ll be there, you see.
I’ll be there in sun
In laughter and fun.
I’ll be there in rain,
Again and again.
We’ll let down our guard,
And not try too hard.
We’ll listen and soothe.
Rough edges we’ll smooth.
We’ll sing and we’ll share,
Try not to compare.
We’ll defend each other,
Like sisters or brothers.
When I prop her up
And she does the same,
We’ll drink from one cup,
And share our true names.
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Tags: #Abiding friendship, #Daily Prompt, #Friend
Mar 20, 2016 The Daily Post
In response to The Daily Post’s Daily Prompt: Window
Window – A Junction
©March 20th, 2016
By Vijaya Sundaram
Your eyes, her mind
Your picture, her frame
Her universe, your telescope
Your song, her bar lines.
No, you cannot own her.
Nor can she own you.
What you see is just
An aperture, a capture.
The window makes
All reducible, accessible
Conceals the mystery.
And you will forever
Create the back-story.
So, it must be.
For this is where your worlds touch.
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Tags: #Daily Prompt, #Metaphorical poem, #Original Poetry, #Window
Mar 19, 2016 Daily Life, The Daily Post
In response to The Daily Post’s Daily Prompt: Dirty
Never Be Free (Of Dirt, That is!)
©March 19th, 2016
By Vijaya Sundaram
Don’t touch that! It’s dirty!
Don’t go there! It’s … dirty!
Sit here, not there, it’s … dirty!
Oh no, the dog’s gotten all … dirty!
.
What has happened to me?
I, who raced through the main street in Tirunelveli, chasing after pigs which wallowed in disgusting filth at street corners; I, who played in the mud with great pleasure, making forts and houses and tunnels and parks with my neighborhood friend, when I lived in Pune as a young child; I, who washed my hair rarely when I was a pre-teen, because I had better things to do, so I thought; I, who rode my bike all over the city, fell down, cut my knees badly, and rode home with city dirt in my wound – I have turned into a fuss-budget!
Alas, now, I’m too careful (although, thank goodness, when I do gardening, I really LOVE the dirt, still)! And I worry a tiny bit too much, but not so much that I don’t know when I’m fussing. I let my daughter know that I sometimes fuss overmuch, and that she is free to call me out on it. And she does. And we laugh. Which is good. (Sorry for the sentence fragments but hey, this is my blog!)
My only real requirements with her are:
Wash your hands before you eat.
Take your bath every day, and be clean
Wash your hair a few times every week.
The nice thing is that she is very obliging, so when she does push back about some silly thing I might worry about (dirt), I know I’ve gone overboard, and I back off.
Holly, our dog, is now used to my wiping her paws when she comes in from the backyard, and washing all four paws if it’s a wet, or muddy day. I don’t believe in these mat-things. Dirt goes away only when it’s washed off. Holly is pretty obliging too – she stands there patiently when I lave her paws in warm water (I think she likes it now), then wipe them off carefully. Not bad for a dog, actually.
Having Holly, though, has taught me to be much easier about dirt. I don’t freak out or anything if she’s gross – I simply wash her off, and wipe down the place in a matter-of-fact way. This is much, much better than my first reaction when she squatted in my study and did her puppy-business within the first few days of our bringing her home. I squawked in horror, I’m ashamed to say.
A puppy is not the same as one’s own baby, I’m afraid (although I adore our dog, and thought of her as another child within a few weeks of bringing her to our place). A young baby does her or his business several times a day, and any squeamishness a parent might have (and strangely, neither my husband nor I had any) will dissipate simply from so much repetition. Plus, the upside of having a baby is that she or he is not a free-ranging being, not until toddler-hood, which is a whole other thing to worry about. A puppy, on the other hand, wanders around, and goes here and there, so all this mobility makes one nervous.
Enough with that aspect of this topic!
The interesting thing is that I tolerate clutter (and live in it, even if I’d like to not do so), but I dislike filth. Earth dirt is not dirty, filth is dirty. I don’t mind dust, because that’s just … dust, and I can take care of it easily.
All these are just gradations with all of us. I suppose true freedom will come when we simply don’t care about such things.
Alas, then, I don’t think I shall ever be free!
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Tags: #Daily Prompt, #Dirty
Mar 19, 2016 Original Poetry, Senryu, The Daily Post
In response to The Daily Post’s Daily Prompt: Fight
Fight the Tide Twice
©March 19th, 2016
By Vijaya Sundaram
When the tide comes in
Flooding where you stand and stare –
Fight it, rise and swim!
When the tide goes out,
Dragging, tugging at your feet –
Fight it, dig feet in!
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Tags: #Daily Prompt, #Fight, #Holding steady, #Stubbornness, Fight the tide
Mar 16, 2016 Ramblings and Musings, The Daily Post
In response to The Daily Post’s Daily Prompt:Envy
What I Envy
©March 16th, 2016
By Vijaya Sundaram
I envy plants and flowers for being the most beautiful things in the world.
I envy rocks and stones and pebbles for not caring about being buffeted by the winds and the tides and Climate Change.
I envy birds because they fly (although bugs and worms would put me off).
I envy my dog for falling asleep effortlessly whenever or wherever she needs to, and waking up cheerful, refreshed and uncomplaining.
I envy those who can fly through the air on a trapeze, something I’d like to do.
I envy those who have given up worldly things, and have truly dedicated themselves to humanity — people like Paul Farmer of PiH in Haiti. He’s a hero of mine. I would like to do something like that, but am afraid that I have too many attachments and duties to individuals who are already in my life (so, instead, I give frequently to various good causes).
I envy uncomplicated people, and love them for being so.
I envy those creatures which are not human for being non-polluters.
I envy humans who live completely off the grid, and wish to be like them.
I envy those who want nothing, and want that! (Ah, irony!)
I envy those who practise their instruments diligently every day (like I used to, and am trying to get started on practising again).
I envy those who have finished Moby Dick by Herman Melville (I never did, although I read much of it).
I envy those who can multitask, and still be able to concentrate fully on ALL their tasks.
I envy those who are effortlessly neat (I like neatness, but it’s an effort!).
I envy those who are young enough that the possibilities in their futures seem limitless.
I envy those who manage to stay in shape and are disciplined about it.
I envy those who don’t doubt themselves, and at the same time, I would NEVER want to be like them.
I envy my former self.
I envy those who have died, because they are free from angst and pain.
And at the same time, I envy no one. It’s only when I think about it, I would say, Hmmm … yup, I think I envy them for these things, BUT I am SO happy to be who I am.
So, I guess envy is a fleeting thing with me — doesn’t stay long (except for the birds and flowers part – I do wish I could fly, or just bloom for a season and then die gracefully!)
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Tags: #Daily Prompt, #Envy
Mar 15, 2016 The Daily Post
In response to the Daily Post’s Daily Prompt: Drop
Drop a Drop
©March 15th, 2016
By Vijaya Sundaram
How far can you go
With a cup of water
That is filled to the brim
And hold it aloft,
Never spilling a drop?
Though it’s small, it will grow
In weight as you go
And your arms will ache
When time hangs heavy
And you long to drop it.
And so it is with all of us,
As we carry the weight
Of our past and our dreams
And our fears – and it seems
We can never drop them.
And to you I can say
These words: Let them drop!
Let them fall around you
And scatter in your wake –
And they’ll soon be gone!
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Tags: #Daily Prompt, #Drop, #Letting go of things, #Metaphorical poem, #Original Poetry