#TankaTuesday #Poetry Challenge

Tilini – The Himalaya, 2021 photo credit – sangeetha

breeze blends into love 
whispering rhythmic tunes
colors have faded
but our relationship knows
how we defeated darkness

***

bound by promises
and the gnarled branches of life,
constant companions
waiting for the final kiss
life’s winter is beckoning

***

inspired from your love
I watch you, waiting for spring
to dance once again
and dispel loneliness that
lingers in my pining heart

© Balroop Singh

Thanks to Colleen M. Chesebro for weekly poetry challenge at Word Craft: Prose & Poetry for the inspiration.

If you like poetry: click here to hear Magical Whispers

Have you checked my latest release? – Slivers: Chiseled Poetry

 

Flashes of Life @pamelawight #BookReview

“Life is a mirror and will reflect back to the thinker what he thinks into it,” says Ernest Holmes but life is a tide for my writer & blogger buddy Pamela S. Wight and she derives utmost joy from the tiny moments of the past and present, surfing the waves with perfect coordination. She shares her reflections in the form of short stories (each one better than the other) in her latest book: ‘Flashes of Life – True Tales of the Extraordinary Ordinary.’

Book Blurb:

Click to look inside

Wow! Life goes by in a flash.

Philosophers and mystics ponder the mystery of these flashes. Pamela Wight writes about life flashes in her short stories that include family and friends, love and life’s challenges. Wight’s “Flash Memoir” promotes the belief that we all share sparks of the extraordinary that occur in our everyday life. Each short story is true and brings a smile of recognition to her readers: that life transports and enthralls us in all its confusing, amusing, challenging, and astonishing ways. Each story is light-hearted and short – like a flash – but be prepared for a page-turner that keeps you in your seat, smiling.

Here is my My Review:

Flashes of Life by Pamela S. Wight brings to life those little moments of joy, which we often miss, those emotions that remain unexpressed, those relationships that we cherish and wish we could hold on to them as they slip out of our hands, however hard we may close our fists. Wight possesses the knack of converting an ordinary scenario into a humorous one, with her witty style of writing. I’ve never read a more marvelous account of the endeavor of a fourteen-year-old girl, to straighten her hair to look like ‘Jane Asher!’

I know Pamela writes with élan, as I follow her at her blog but this memoir, in the form of little stories and anecdotes from her life is amazing! She can look at the mirror and wonder, “where’s the cute twenty-year-old? Who the hell is this freaky lady?” I must have thought that a million times when I look at myself but only Pamela could express it so well to compress it into ‘Dancing Our Age.’ Her crisp style and ingenious choice of words adds a dash of delight that touches your heart immediately. Her stories flow like a gurgling stream, cascading at times and shimmering like the first rays of winter sun.

I thought ‘Straight Hair’ would be my favorite but then I read ‘How to Embarrass Your Kids’ (loaded with fun) and ‘A Renewal’ – dripping with subtle emotions and ‘Grilled Cheese,’ which is wonderfully narrative: “kitchen as tiny as an elf’s, and it has already taken me four minutes, thirty-eight seconds to find a knife to cut the cheese.” Wight is most creative but it hits the sky with ‘It’s All Golden!’ Just look at this: “my thirty year old son, once my hard child”, as hard as sleet on soft grass. I was the grass.” I loved ‘Nap Time,’ I laughed out loud while reading ‘Burnt Toast’ and would never forget her winter coat that she wore when it was 70 degrees outside! You have to read it to find why!

I have no words to describe the superb beauty of ‘The Weight of the Soul’ and ‘Benji.’ Need I say this is a MUST READ book? I would like to give it double 5 stars and keep it at my bedside to read it again and again.

– Balroop Singh.

Seeking…

Photo credit: SHAH MARAI/AFP/Getty Images) 

Despair and suffering has been the fate of women for centuries. I am dismayed that it still is in many parts of the globe. The long, endless battle against conservative forces that take pleasure in subjugation continues! The following poem is inspired from this thought.

We don’t want to mother a son
In this land of Taliban
We don’t want a daughter either
It’s better to end this race
If they can’t keep pace with the world.

Let the seeds dry even if they are forced into us
Let’s pledge not to nurture them
Let our wombs wither – our only weapon
To gain control over servitude of centuries
Our hope is still alive.

Is there any need to look elsewhere?
Is it fair to wait for outside help?
When our own spirit is enough.
Muted faces convey profound message:
Silent storms sway the earth.

Our shrieks search a new world
Equitable and enlightened.
Our dreams are no longer monochromatic
Warped by societal norms
Red ink is all over them, seeking justice.
© Balroop Singh, September 2021.

It’s poet’s choice at Colleen’s weekly poetry challenge this week. You too can join with the image and form of your own choice. Thanks.

The Song Of Peace

My inkpot is empty
My words hang in the air
Yearning to communicate.

I stir my words in the teacup
Their warmth is wafting
Eager to touch you.

I try to carve them on your heart
They melt and mix in your blood
Losing their charm.

How will posterity read them?
I need new inkpots
My journal is wistful and forlorn.

Embedded within its pages
My words wish to soar
Words that whisper and warble…

© Balroop Singh

Thank you. 

For more poetry: click here to hear Magical Whispers

Have you checked my latest release? – Slivers: Chiseled Poetry

#BookReviews 5 #stars for each one

Some books inspire me to write a review midway and I usually makes notes on my Kindle, more so if it is poetry. There are others, which elicit no response from me even after I’ve finished it. I’ve been thinking what could be the reason for lack of inspiration – monotonous characters or jaded story line?

The books I share today are the ones that belong to the first category – I made so many notes that the reviews were almost ready by the time I finished reading them.

Keeper Tyree by S. Cox – My Review:

Click to look inside

If you’ve read and enjoyed ‘Gwen Slade,’ ‘Keeper Tyree’ is even better and steamier than that, with some delightful characters thrown in to keep the interest alive. In her captivating style, S. Cox grips you right in the beginning and moves at a breathtaking speed. When Cathleen O’ Donnell hires Keeper to take revenge from the killer of her son, he appears to be a detached, hardened killer but the way his character evolves with the story, is incredible! The power of a strong, obdurate woman floors him and he has to remind himself that he is just with her for business. He knows his soul is blackened yet he yearns for the tender touch of a woman.

I have read many books of Cox and each one is extremely readable, with strong women characters who define their goals out of free will and refuse to be influenced by circumstances. This one mentions women as “wondrous creatures” and Cathleen as well as Maybell shine through out the story. A page-turner, without a dull moment, replete with continuous action, this book is one of her best. Highly recommended.

Behind Closed Doors by Robbie Cheadle – My Review:

Click to look inside

Behind Closed Doors by Robbie Cheadle is an assortment of various styles – haiku, tanka, haibun and free style of poetry that is realistic; it touches upon various facets of life and captures many emotions in a subtle manner. Having read her ‘Open a New Door,’ I am quite familiar with Robbie’s poetry but some of the poems in this collection left me spellbound! 

Inspiring you to rise from “hot ashes” to face new challenges, develop a new perspective and “break your shackles” to reach the improbable, there are many poems dripping with such positivity. ‘Stars in Her Eyes’ brilliantly reveals her “glittering world” when she soars on the “gossamer wings, empowered by the hope to gather the “fairy dust.” Beautiful imagery! The metaphorical poems ‘Contrasting Colors’ and ‘A Fairy-tale Come True’ are superbly written.

‘He Walks Away’ took my heart away, as a mother’s pride and pain has been captured so well in this poem. I could relate to Robbie’s words:

“Her kiss is no longer wanted as he seeks the lips of the other. It’s heart-wrenching to let go…”

‘Can you see the Butterflies’ is another masterpiece, rich with imagery, impelling you to rush outside to watch the wonders of nature. Read this collection and find answers in “sweet dreams.” Such is the magic of poetry!

Secrets, Lies & Alibis by Jacquie Biggar – My Review:

Click to look inside

Secrets, Lies & Alibis, written in the signature style of Jacquie, is a short, fast-paced read that leaves you craving for more. I was rooting for Amanda all the time, waiting for the right moment to dawn for the estranged couple. While Amanda is planning to go ahead with her baby all alone, Adam wants to come back to her. It gets exciting with each page, as quick action is thrown in which brings back old unresolved challenges. Some secrets need to be shared!

Relationships and respect remain significant in this book too. Though this is book 8 of the series and I haven’t read all of them but each time I read one, I get inspired to read more.

Thank you. Happy reading

If you like poetry: click here to hear Magical Whispers

Have you checked my latest release? – Slivers: Chiseled Poetry