Thursday 13 October 2011

Ghazal #1 : Desert Muse


I now turn to explore another form of poetry known as ghazal. I gather from my reading that they consist of couplets, ranging from 5-15. The second line of every couplet closes with a refrain. The last couplet will contain the penname of the poet. In my case, I chose Lorot.

These are not poetry class notes and they don’t pretend to be such. You see, sometimes echoes disappear. Trapping them here inside caves helps a great deal. But pilgrimage is all about keeping your ears open to trap your own echoes.

That’s all.

Now, off to the first ghazal in Echoes of the Hills.

 Ps. Note to Self: Structured poetry is like an unruly child. When it fails to co-operate, you feel like to smack it. What a tenacity it requires!


Desert Muse


Photo supplied by Poets United




Nature has a playful part in a sultry desert
Exhibited by the little animals in a flattery desert.

The fingers of want tickle the cerebrum
To pick traces of life in a paltry desert.

Like the squirrel sipping from a Coke bottle
Hope transcended from dust to slurry desert

Amazing to watch the poise and intellect
Emboldened against the worry desert

Lorot, though unlearned of the deserts, says
Be still, the squirrel kept cool in the paltry desert








Shared with Poets United  The Thursday Think Tank #70 - Hunger

6 comments:

Ellasedge said...

Very clever, I love this line, "Emboldened against the worry desert"

Susie Clevenger said...

Nice work...the fingers of want tickle the cerebrum to pick traces of life in a paltry desert...my favorite line :)

echoesofthehills said...

Thanks a lot Susie. Welcome to Echoes of the Hills.

echoesofthehills said...

Thanks Ellasedge. Welcome to Echoes of the Hills.

Madhumakhi said...

What a refreshing perspective on Ghazal! A person very familiar with ghazal would normally write a poem in which they'd describe their hunger for their lover or god. How their life is a vast desert without the presence of an anchor or something like that.
Instead you've used ghazal to describe how animals adapt to a desert, prompted by a picture of a cute little squirrel drinking from a coca-cola bottle.
I like the uniqueness of your poem.

echoesofthehills said...

Thanks a lot, Madhumakhi. I had written a poem on hunger before in which I had poured out my heart. Uncharacteristic of myself, I wrote about hunger from a different standpoint. I am still experimenting. Let us see where this leads to.

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