Lily Love #chōka

Photo credit: Terri Webster Schrandt,

love breeze beguiled us
when we planted white lilies –
our precious flowers
in our glorious garden.
In gratitude, some
butterflies twirl, eager to 
plant vibrant kisses 
on pristine petals of love
a true commemoration 

***

that our love was both – 
tenuous and fiercely wild
ruins are beautiful! 
who said spring is eternal?
shifting sands murmur
shadows of night susurrate
water flows at will
all carry the same message:
love is just like white lilies

***

your lilies withered
when you didn’t nurture them 
the door was open
I just had to walk through it
into the wide world
rooted to icy threshold,
 in quagmire of fears,
I shudder at skepticism
that is pulling me backwards.

***
© Balroop Singh

Thanks to Colleen and Terri for the inspiration to create syllabic poetry. This week I chose to write a nine-line chōka, which has 5-7-5-7-5-7-5-7-7 syllables.

Thank you.

If you like poetry: click here to hear Magical Whispers

Or hang out with  Hues Of Hope 

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Bliss of #Solitude

To walk
 with open arms and gather the gold.

To recline
on the green grass and dream.

To fly 
on the silvery clouds to touch the horizon.

To soak
in the glory of raw rain drops.

To sing
with the wondrous wind that frees my spirit.

To bounce
with the delicate daffodils. 

To bathe
in the moonlight of love.

To merge
in the ecstasy of twinkling stars.

To sleep
stress free and dream like a dilettante.

That is the bliss of solitude.

© Balroop Singh

***

Bounce with the glory
of delicate daffodils
tender sprouts beckon
© Balroop Singh 

Thanks to Colleen for the inspiration. This week’s challenge is synonyms only – Spring & Green 

Spring: bounce

Green: tender/raw

Thank you.

If you like poetry: click here to hear Magical Whispers

Or hang out with  Hues Of Hope 

A favorite Spice

cardamom

sweet
and small,
younger than
black cardamom
I am precious for
the fragrance I exude.
I excel when crushed with love, 
enhance the taste of beverages
and add flavor to some sweet dishes
double-edged – alluring smell, sublime taste. 

A favorite of grandma for her tea,
this dainty lady entered my life
one fine day to add aroma
to biryani and curries.
keep her in air-tight jar 
or she may lose her  
distinctive charm,
revered for
better
health.
© Balroop Singh

Thanks to Colleen for the inspiration to write a syllabic poem on an unimaginable topic! I have written a double Etheree which consists of 10 lines of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 syllables. Etheree can also be reversed and written 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

This week’s challenge is The Spice of Life: Choose a spice from your kitchen cabinet, and relate its flavor to an event that recently happened in your daily life. Write your syllabic poem! Bonus—if you share a photo of the spice in your post.

Thank you.

If you like poetry: click here to hear Magical Whispers

Or hang out with  Hues Of Hope 

#Spirituality #BookReview

I always thought that spirituality is self-development. I associate it with our psychological growth.  It is just being in harmony with yourself, exploring your thoughts and empowering them, delving deep into what you want and not being led by the so-called Gurus. It only comes with understanding people and the world. It is being kind, tolerant and forgiving, which may lead you to inner peace.

 Till I came across this book, which confounded me with a lot of questions though it claims that “‘The Untethered Soul‘ offers simple yet profound answers to these questions: What would it be like to free yourself from limitations and soar beyond your boundaries? What can you do each day to discover inner peace and serenity?”

My Review:

This thought-provoking book speaks the language of the usual yogis or so called “Religious Gurus” and inspires you to live in harmony, avoid extremes, contemplate death to learn from it; it takes you round and round, offers no solution but repeats three messages time and again, which are:

Let go.

Leave your comfort zone.

Break the boundaries you’ve set for yourself and look beyond.

I am sure we’ve heard these messages a thousand times yet we don’t “Let go.” Why? Because we all know how challenging it is to let go of our worries, stressful moments, emotional hurts, failures, haunting memories, betrayals etc.

Singer takes very basic examples of letting go and doesn’t mention the real issues like  – How can a successful person who has been laid off not get stressed?

What about the parents who have lost their young child in gun violence? Will they ever be able to let go? It might take a struggle of lifetime for them to see light within them. 

What about a woman who has to live with an abusive husband and her cultural compulsions don’t let her move an inch without his permission? How can she break the boundaries? 

Healing takes a long time. Spirituality is a long, meandering process but there is no such warning in this book. It makes it sound as easy as accomplishing a simple task of making a cup of tea.

Give this book in the hands of  a 20 year old and he would scoff at the possibility of letting go. He is eager to experience life, absorb the impressions and take all the risks.

 Give it in the hands of a 30 year old and he would shove it in one of the book shelves, as he has no time for “untethering his soul.” He would like to explore all the possibilities of reaching the zenith. He doesn’t believe in boundaries.

Give it in the hands of a 40 year old and he would say – ‘easier said than done’ because by now life has taught him many lessons. He has found his comfort zone. He also knows from his experiences that it is only when we struggle with ourselves, only when we try to make peace with an unfortunate event, only when we use all the available energy that we can remove the weight, that blocks our heart and mind. Untethering the soul is a far cry. 

Then Singer talks about unconditional happiness. The most shocking part is and I quote: “Do you want to be happy from this point forward for the rest of your life, regardless of what happens? Now if you say yes, it might happen that your wife leaves you, or your husband dies, or the stock market crashes or or your car breaks down on an open highway at night.” Then he says- just “let the events come and go.” “Don’t allow events to leave impressions inside of you.”
Really? Can you control the impressions that harrowing events leave on your heart and mind? Another shocking quote, “No matter what happens, you choose to enjoy the experience, if they starve you and put you in solitary confinement, just have fun.”

Though I didn’t dislike the book but it didn’t offer anything new. It is quite elementary.

I have given 3 stars to this book though it is said to be the bestseller.

Thank you.

If you like poetry: click here to hear Magical Whispers

Or hang out with  Hues Of Hope 

Specific Form #Poetry Challenge: Lanturne

I have never heard of this form yet I’ve tried to follow the guidelines to create a lanturne.
The challenge has been given by Colleen (Word Craft Poetry #TankaTuesday) This week, we have to write a lanturne poem or a series of lanturne poems. (A series gets you extra credit, by the way).

The lanturne is a five-line verse shaped like a Japanese lantern with a syllabic pattern of one, two, three, four, one. (1, 2, 3, 4, 1).
I have tried to write a series of lanturne poems. 

If
You yearn
for moments
If they call you,
wait!

**

dig
deeper.
memories
coruscate to
cheer

**

some
love to
embrace us
others look grim
drab

**

all
attach
some essence 
to stream of life 
song

**

sing
with poise
To handle
turbulent life
lull
© Balroop Singh

**

Thank you for the inspiration to learn new forms, Colleen.

For more poetry: click here to hear Magical Whispers

Here is my latest release  Hues Of Hope