Orbs of Light – Sun & Moon

Borrowed Glory

Shining in my glory
You charm the lovesick couples?
Thus spoke sun to moon

*

Hopegivers

As big star goes down
Little bro moon shows its face
Keeping our hopes alive

(sunset from my backyard and moon coming up from the front)

© 2016 Alka Girdhar

~~~ ~~~

These are my two haiku written for Ronovan Writes Haiku Challenge 93
The two words provided were: Sun & Moon

Today I attempted haiku poems after a long time. I’m not very good at it, I thought.
But then what am I good at? I wondered. I wrote. I let it be…

Weltshmertz and our Woeful Longing

Words like longing and pining pull our heart strings because longing is related to some unfulfilled desire or an unmet need, something that most of of have experienced in life or continue to do so.

Previously, on seeing the words Pine & Grief provided for Ronovan Writes Haiku Challenge, I couldn’t help thinking of this phrase ‘we pine for what is not‘.

This phrase, that represents the universal truth, is originally from the poem To The Skylark by P.B. Shelly. For the first time I brought another writer’s work into my post.
Shelly says ‘we look before and after…and pine for what is not…’
I gave it a twist by adding ‘we overlook what we have got…’

Pining for grief

We pine for what is not
And overlook what we’ve got
Recipe for our grief

Thus, the trouble with us is not just that we long too much for our past or that scheme too much for our future. It’s also that we don’t focus on our present, forever ungrateful for what we currently have, while not making the most of it. By doing all this we are ‘pining for what is not’ as well as unconsciously creating sadness and misery rather than positively constructing happiness by taking our current life in our own hands.

*** ***

My second haiku is about a different kind of longing…

Weltshmertz

Hi-tech generation
Craving perpetual novelty
Desolation lingers

Weltshmertz is a feeling of sadness caused by ills of the world, as too much craving brings world weariness.

Longing is not all bad though. There’s a unique pleasure in yearning for the ones we love. It shows that we care. And yet, excess is bad – for excessively desperate longing is not just a sign of existing depression but it is addictive and cyclical, thus causing more depression.

Ebb and Flow Of Poetic Challenges

My participation in Ronovan Writes Weekly Haiku Challenge is very unpredictable. It all depends upon the ebb and flow of fluids within my grey matter.

The two words provided to us this week:  Tide & Flesh.

*

Flesh and blood humans
Riding on the tides of time
Helpless dummies

*

Go with the flow
Or use might against the tide
Triumph be the goal

*

Burn yourself out
Melt your flesh and bone
Tides will change

*

Nation advances
A rising tide lifts all boats
All lives boom

*

Causing big tides
Mighty Moon flexes its muscles
I rule the Earth!!

*

Receding tides brought
A mermaid’s body on the beach
Sea’s beautiful gift

~~~

Yayyyy!!  (still counting the haiku).

© 2015 Alka Girdhar

To drown in Wine and Poetry

Woman and Wine

Ditched by a bad hen
He immersed not in his tears
Soused himself in wine

*

Hooked to Tears

Poetry that pours out
From the core of a weeping heart
Addictive as wine

(addictive to the writer as well as the reader)

~~~

These were my two Haiku poems for:  Ronovan Writes Weekly Haiku Poetry Prompt Challenge 61. Have a look at Ronovan’s site. You too can take part in Haiku Challenge.

Words provided this week:  Wine & Tears

Copyright © 2015 Alka Girdhar

Playing these Games of Chance

Games of Chance

In the game of Bridge
As also in the game of Life
Chance decides our moves.

Yes it does. Those who completely believe in this, leave it all to chance.

Better still, when playing the game…learn the rules, focus, know your playing partners enough and be respectable towards the opponent. Even after that you may lose. That’s because a probability of always winning is low anyway.

Hence, make the most of what you have and enjoy while you’re at it…that’s the best you can do.

~~~

For:  Ronovan Writes Weekly Haiku Poetry Prompt Challenge 60.
Words provided this week:  Bridge & Move

Copyright © 2015 Alka Girdhar

Kleptomania Aborted

Too bird-brained she was
To thus get caught red-handed
Thief’s Labor Lost

Through my little Haiku poem, I’m not making fun of some woman caught stealing by a shopkeeper’s CC camera. But the shock or disbelief is there when we see some decent person stealing petty things.

“What? She was stealing? My gosh!!  But she’s so well-off. Does she need to steal a lipstick?”

“Oh! She’s a kleptomaniac”

Kleptomania is the inability to refrain from the urge to steal items and is done for reasons other than personal use or financial gain, defines Wikipedia

So, is this stealing compulsion a depression of a some sort?  After all this act is for some emotional satisfaction rather than material gains. Kleptomaniacs often steal things they do not really need.

While this mania is not totally harmless, there are often no ill-intentions as such towards the product owner. That’s why stealing is carried out without any intelligent plan, and that is the reason so many kleptomaniacs are caught, esp. when it becomes too much of a habit. Like when they steal too often or steal too many things.

And because most kleptomaniacs are women, it makes sense that women often make news when they get caught stealing petty things.

Men.  Now men either do not steal that often…or they do not get caught.

Jokes apart, women are generally known to seek happiness through shopping, what we positively call ‘retail therapy’.  For some people, excessive shopping that is seemingly harmless, does help fill their emotional vacuum or loneliness, while others who are even more emotionally disturbed, take their shopping addiction one step further, as they begin to find comfort in an addiction called stealing.

Possibly it’s not as innocent as that. What if they are established small time thieves and not harmless kleptomaniacs. It could be a bad habit from childhood carried till adulthood. A moral lesson not learnt the whole life, as nobody punished them for their first wrongdoing.

Whatever it is, the need is to not make fun of anyone who’s addicted to this kind of petty stealing but get the person to seek counseling so that the root cause of their problem can be traced.  Try saving a human heart and soul if you can, with love and kindness.

~~~~

My Haiku poem and thoughts in response to Ronovan Writes Weekly Haiku Poetry Prompt Challenge 59.
Key words given: Bird & Red

An Obedient Feminist

An Obedient Feminist

A free thinking woman
She fights for everyone’s rights.
With hubby’s permission.

 

*****

For: Ronovan Writes Haiku Poetry Prompt Challenge 54
Words Provided:  Free & Think

*****

Anti-feminists

I’m a free thinking woman
I love gender equality.
But if I fight with men
then who’s going to…
mow my lawn
fix the taps
open my car door
pay the bills
pamper me
like a queen.
But
I like equality
I respect all men.

*****

In response to my post, Lola from ‘Through Lola’s Prism’ asked me “What is the punchline?”.  Well, I had left it to the readers to figure it out.  But generally…is feminism an eyewash…more of an oxymoron?

Unlock your heart at Gabbing Club

This club called blogging
Heals and unlocks sealed hearts
Gabbing at its best

After accidentally starting my blog, for quite some time I was surprised to see the amount of sharing and connecting that is involved in blogging as against simple writing.  I had no idea about this.

Some bloggers open up less while others want to open up.  Many blogs have memoirs, personal musings while most indulge in occasional rant to say it out and feel lighter.  Of course this sharing of inner feelings is in the form of creative and inspiring writing, as it is in this Haiku Challenge, and in all other challenges and prompts .

But all that makes blogging somewhat similar to a club or any other hub of social activity. Some people go to a club a lot, others come occasionally.

If we look at most gatherings and congregations that involve physical presence of people, there is similar socializing that begins with interesting and relevant talking but has every chance of ending up in idle talk that people should preferably refrain from. There is that thin line. Sometimes I myself end up writing too much.

Hence, I’ll re-write my above Haiku by changing its last line:

This club called blogging
Heals and unlocks sealed hearts
Idle gab there be none

Sculpture by Rose-Aimée Belanger

Does it mean bloggers should always be cautious about their posts and interactions? Won’t that make it too polished, while killing the charm of natural spontaneity of blogging.

Actually it depends on the purpose of our blog. There are some extremely formal academic and business blogs that have very minimal and formal interactions. Their objectives are different

In comparison to this, some bloggers feel like communicating a lot, for it is their need, as blogging is cathartic, esp. if bloggers remain anonymous and unlock their hearts, thus seeking solutions to their problems. Likewise there are bloggers who want to, and are in a position to, help others and win hearts. Again, this task too can’t be done without elaborate communication. If you want to help others heal their broken hand, there’s nothing wrong in narrating how your own hand was once broken and how you healed it.

In keeping the above blogging goals, many, if not most, bloggers want to quickly go viral and some do get successful in that. Thus fame and possible money are not too impossible by-products of this gabbing and healing club.

To each his own.  But basically, on any kind of social media that involves gabbing, we should crave depth over breadth, or else both.

Because…“Only on the Internet can a person be lonely and popular at the same time.” This quote by Allison Burnett does make sense.

~~~~

That was my response to:  Ronovan Writes Weekly Haiku Challenge 49

This week’s words were – Lock and Gab.  I used these words in my Haiku.

Not Charged Enough

When I saw the two words provided to us by Ronovan Writes Haiku Challenge 44,  I was like…aww…not for me. I dare not try this one:

Look how this prompt
Has super-charged you wanton lovers
I better stay away

But, once the mind started working, it couldn’t help creating.

How could the lovers meet?
Her phone battery was uncharged
Communication gap.

And if she is gone, what’s the point thinking too much about her…

You think you love her?
Once a lover not always a lover  
Take charge of your life

Make it happen, be creative, be constructive…let it be

The lovers of arts
Always super-charged with ideas
Live your pipe dreams.

My brain seems to have been charged by these poems…better use it before the battery goes down.

© Alka Girdhar

Beaconed

After attempting Ronovan Writes Weekly Haiku Challenge with my single haiku as in Life Signals, this time I had raised my hands, given up.

But early morning today, some more Haiku ideas gave their call. I was beaconed to write this second post for the challenge.  Read more Haikus using words: Field & Beacon:

1).  Beaconed by Lord’s call
      Moses cleared his field of vision
      Received Ten Words

The account in Old Testament of how upon receiving a call from God, Moses feared not and went ahead to receive The Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai. The clearing of vision was a physical act as the clouds lifted but it’s also an act of mental vision becoming clearer. My knowledge is not very thorough here so correct me if I’m wrong.

2). Beaconed by His flute
     Radha ran into the field
     Was left mesmerized

Story of eternal love between Radha and Krishna.  Krishna, a cow-herd in a small Indian village was deft in 16 types of arts. Playing flute when idly lying down in the fields was what he did while cows grazed around him. Listening to his flute, the whole village used to be charmed, esp. Radha who would become a lost soul upon listening to Krishna’s flute as theirs was a spiritual union..
Spiritualists opine that Krishna’s flute is symbolic of God’s song/word in general and Radha is nothing but our soul. Soul is forever charmed by God and keeps longing to return to Him.

3). Beaconed by his call
     She ran into the field
     And saw him leaving

Many people have shared their experiences with me.
In olden days, sometimes people in love took too long to take decisions about meeting the object of their love. Say, if she is lured by the call of his beloved, but took so long deciding that finally when she went running to see him, it was too late as he had already mounted the horse and turned his back…
In modern selfie-generation scenario, a girl/boy may just go running hastily without a wise thought. In this case my Haiku will have a different ending.  Something like….’And this was her/his undoing’

4). Beaconed by The Pied Piper
    The rats followed his field
    To drown into the river

Real or legendary tale from the town of Hamelin in Germany. The town was facing a rat infestation, and a brightly-clothed piper appeared. This piper promised to get rid of the rats in return for a payment. the townspeople agreed. The piper played music and lead all the rats away to drown them into a river Weser. Hamelin people forgot their promise. The angry pied-piper took revenge and this time led all the children away.

When I was in High School in India, in our school musical function we performed a ballet based on this poem on pied piper by Robert Browning.

That’s all for this Haiku Challenge. A lot, isn’t it?

~~~

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