thinkALONG! 5 November

A TUESDAY FEATURE

hosts: Muskaan Ahuja, K.Ramesh

guest editor: Muskaan Ahuja

Only the unpublished poems (that are never published on any social media platform/journals/anthologies) posted here for each prompt will be considered for Triveni Haikai India's monthly journal -- haikuKATHA, each month.

Poets are requested to post poems (haiku/senryu) that adhere to the prompts/exercises given.

Only 1 poem to be posted in 24 hours. Total 2 poems per poet are allowed each week (numbered 1,2). So, revise your poems till 'words obey your call'.

If a poet wants feedback, then the poet must mention 'feedback welcome' below each poem that is being posted.

Responses are usually a mixture of grain and chaff. The poet has to be discerning about what to take for the final version of the poem or the unedited version will be picked up for the journal.

The final version should be on top of the original version for selection.

Poetry is a serious business. Give you best attempt to feature in haikuKATHA !!

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To quote Encyclopedia of the Fantastic 1953 , “Zahir, in Arabic , means visible, present, incapable of going unnoticed. It is someone or something that gradually occupies every thought, until we can think of nothing else. This can be considered either a state of holiness or madness.”

I am sure you must be telling yourself this moment that this is what you have always felt in your innermost being. Even as poets of Japanese form of poetry, this statement rings true and genuine. Some days, we think that writing haiku, senryu, tanka, haibun and other haikai poems is a bliss, while on other days, we run mad to find the right word that can touch a chord in our readers. This is exactly what makes our writing process and poetic journey no less than an adventure!

"The first drafts are where you pour your heart. The subsequent drafts are where you put your mind."

This week, I look forward to see both in your haiku/senryu in the most authentic way possible!!

Show me how raw are your emotions, thoughts and feelings -- bring it on, unapologetically!

where do i belong...

with a few clinging leaves

or with the fallen ones

--- Kala Ramesh

Here's one brewing in my mind...

autumn wind...

do they also grieve

who choose to leave

---- Muskaan Ahuja

Before I leave, here's a quote for you:

"To ask why we fall in love is to ask why the leaves fall. And to ask how we stay in love is to ask how the trees stay."

-- Jimvirle