A letter. Blood rushes to my head.




Crimson skies
As red as blood
Smells like rust
_____

The letter sits
on the window sill, untouched
Harbinger of bad blood
______

with only one look
Blood rushes to my head -
Summer is over
________



An experiment in storytelling

The storyteller Part II



The moon is high in the sky this moment
I have all that I wish in this moment

The lingering scent of  perfume in the air
My resolve to go vanished this moment

As you catch my widened eyes and parted lips
Time and place is banished, this moment

Deep sighs intermingle with passion
The story undiminished this moment

A tear escapes at the end of the tale
Caught by forlorn and anguish this moment

My listener sits so still, enraptured
The storyteller shall cherish this moment


by ninotaziz
all rights reserved


For more ghazals, explore here at dVersepoets



 

Typhoon Haiyan

 
 
typhoons continue
to vent its rage, I do pray
my dear friends are safe
 
____________________
 
Arian and Kelvin
And thousand of Philippinos across the islands
 
I hope all is well, my friends.
 


Happy Birthday Tess!



Happy Birthday Tess!

And thank you for inviting all of us.

A gift for our fabulous host!

Click to open gift!





A Birthday Gift!



Hope you like it, Tess!

(I wanted to get the strawberry arnaud, but even in cyberspace, it was way too over the top!)




THE WILLOW MANOR BALL 2013



Come join us at the Willow Manor



la lune donne de la brillance
tout est baigné dans la poussière de fée
au Willow Bal ce soir

les mots de ninotaziz

___________


The moon shines softly
and all is shimmering in fairy dust
At the Willow Ball tonight


______



I almost could not attend this year.

But a quick glimpse at the preparations, and I was hooked. It looks like so much fun. And Helen is already there!

So now I am in a frenzy trying to rent a fabulous gown and mask.

And who shall I ask at this last minute?

__________________



Black and simplicity
always work well together…

_________________

However, the Willow Manor is awashed in gold this year.
So here is my mask instead. Delicate enough for a fairy.




And his…



______________________________


As for my gown, here is a traditional Malay Kebaya everyone…


_________________


I am almost ready. The music is playing…





_____________





After all the dates I considered, looks like I can't run away from this guy even in cyberspace.

I am hooked for life.

_________


Malam sungguh syahdu
Tirai berlabuh bermandikan rembulan
Di bawah pohon beringin…




Time



Image by Crilleb50

Contemplative about the past
Speculative about the future
I forgot to live in the present

by ninotaziz

______________________________________






Dave



It's lovely three times over - Dave King


Autumn is gentle 
And on its velvety carpet
You walked away into the night

Did I say thank you
For all the kind words you gave
Before I am forced to say adieu

Thank you Dave
For poetry til the end
Gentle, kind  and brave

Til the end.

Rest in peace.






At dawn tomorrow...


At dawn tomorrow, when the land is a blanket of white,
I’ll leave. I know, you're waiting for me to come to you.
I will walk the  deep forest and mountain's height.
I can no longer live, so far away from you.

                                               - Victor Hugo


Love
Discovered at the point of despair
Brings all senses to a grinding halt
Time is frozen, we dance in that moment
Where the world we believe, ceases to exist
There shines a brilliant tunnel of light
It takes me to you, incredibly true
I have to merely, follow serendipity
Such discovery, I will drown in sensual delight
At dawn tomorrow, when the land is a blanket of white…

Bittersweet
This heady romantic glow cannot last
Its energy is like a shooting star
Travelling the universe at lightning speed
It grows within like a torturous need
And yet, as it burns, it runs out of fuel 
The cold star travels its course forever
Ashes to ashes, before passion disappears 
Even for one as lovely as you, I know it is true
I’ll leave. I know, you're waiting for me to come to you

Pining
Alas, with each step that drags me away
It is only my heart that I leave behind
I thus wonder, how will I live through this pain
How do I get  the scent of you out of my mind
And as the last bright spark of light
Fades away and darkness falls through
I know now I will walk the rest of my days
Willing you to appear within my sight
I will walk the  deep forest and mountain's height.

Forever
Having tasted what was mine for an instant
The memory sears through eternity
Within the chaos of change, the only constant
As I breathe, think, live and dream
What do I do, what do I do
Where do I find solace for my lost love
my own arrogance, my self destruction
For in the end, i realize the bitter truth
I can no longer live, so far away from you.



Demain Dès l'Aube


Demain, dès l'aube, à l'heure où blanchit la campagne,
Je partirai. Vois-tu, je sais que tu m'attends.
J'irai par la forêt, j'irai par la montagne.
Je ne puis demeurer loin de toi plus longtemps.

- Victor Hugo

_____________________________________________


For Poets United
Writers are Lovers



The Sweet Days Die


the secret
this rough magic
the time of our time

imagine a place
paradise

chasing rumi
the name of the rose
a midsummer's night dream
the prophecies
of nostradamus

east of the sun
west of the moon

abundance

________________________________

This is a LATE response to Samuel's prompt over at dVerse Bar
Book Spine Poetry

These are books from my bedroom shelves. I suppose if I pick books from the girls' Young Adult collection it would be an apocalypse poetry! 





fields of gold




gold specks in your eyes
reflect the autumn sunshine
the wheat in the fields


by ninotaziz

___________________________





The moth




moth clamours for light
yet from the heat, she suffers

her heart soars high
while her wings flutter

and thus the moth  slowly dies 
in pursuit of happiness.

_______________________






HIKAYAT SHORTLISTED FOR THE PNM-RTM BOOK AWARDS







HIKAYAT - From The Ancient Malay Kingdoms was shortlisted for the Malaysian PNM-RTM Book Awards. Voting begins tomorrow and will close on 28th September 2013.

Here is a video on HIKAYAT with a wonderful introduction by Resensi host, Sayed Munawar.

I am thrilled and humbled that HIKAYAT was shortlisted for this nationwide award.
TOP 10 List so far: 1 Contengan Jalanan / Hlovate 2 I love you, stupid! / Melur Jelita 3 Hikayat : From The Ancient Malay Kingdoms / retold by ninotaziz 4 Cinta high class & cintaku kerana agamamu / Fatimah Syarha, Farhan Hadi 5 Cucur bawang & kopi 'o' / Hasrudi Jawawi 6 Hingga hujung waktu / Saidee Nor Azam 7 My precious Iris / Melur Jelita 8 Kembara sastera Nisah Haron : United Kingdom dan Dublin / Nisah Haron 9 Berjuta warna pelangi / Iris Ixora 10 Kuasa kata : dari lisan mengalir ke lautan aksara / sebuah memoir Mahaya Mohd. Yassin Title : Hikayat - From The Ancient Malay Kingdoms ISBN : 978-967-61-2540-8 Penulis - ninotaziz http://www.pnm.gov.my/anugerahbukupnm-rtm/pencalonan.php


Please do continue to vote and share daily
Thank you all for your support.



Butter


corn on the cob

autum hearth
fireside warmth
chit chat

heavenly bliss 


by ninotaziz
all rights reserved


____________________________




river




river, running cold and chilled, liberates
stones, leaves and the flurrying clouds

Copyright © 2013 ninotaziz
all rights reserved

___________________________





Superstition




The grey skies chase spring
away, as trees bare their souls
superstition flies

____________________________


copyright © 2013 ninotaziz
all rights reserved






Doomed



I spread my gothic wings
fly to the winsome moon, and
look down to the mirror lake


Oh how majestic! I cry

I am doomed.



Copyright © 2013 ninotaziz
all rights reserved




#SAYSOMETHINGNICE CAMPAIGN - A HIKAYAT A DAY





Once again, I have to stay away for awhile from poetry.

Malaysia is celebrating its National Day from 31st August to 16th September and during this period I am involved in the #SaySomethingNice campaign.

This means, additional storytelling at schools and orphanages, campaign activities and uploading of a Hikayat A Day on Facebook, twitter and 
my Hikayat Blog daily.

Next week, I will be doing A Hikayat A Day event with over 1000 kids at the Sri KDU school. There will be storytelling, sketches and drawing sessions with artist Malek Rahim. 

Wish me luck!





NATIONAL DAY POETRY BY IRANI



we are lucky
to be born in a Malaysia
that is free

our ancestors fought daily
for another day 
to live

hardship
blood and tears
finally freedom became ours

but are we really
the lucky generation
we have everything

except our memories
of our history

MERDEKA!

by Naquessia Irani


________________________________


We celebrate our National Day celebration on 31st August 2013. My daughter Irani (12) wrote this poem she would have to recite for our Merdeka celebrations in  her school. 

That's our Malaysian flag - the Jalur Gemilang,  in our garden, a picture from a couple of years ago. The story is here. Time to take out the flag!




Dewi Tara





a princess
of ancient srivijaya
palembang

fell in love

 

with the builder
of borobodur, king samaratungga
let other kings
build a thousand temples
in one night

she longed for eternity


and sailed to sailendra
from their union, new conquerors
ruled nusantara

for a millennia

by ninotaziz. all rights reserved


At Borobodur, Java

___________________________________

For Brian. And the G-Man.
Inspired by dVersepoets

Dewi Tara was a princess of Srivijaya in Sumatera, Indonesia. She married the Sailendran king Sumaratungga, who in the ninth century completed the largest Bhuddist temple on earth, today known as Borobodur. The bas-relief above adorns the Borobodur temple. Generally they illustrate the Jataka tales and other literature. However, on the third tier, if I am not mistaken, they depict actual scenes from the Sailendran court life.

I visited Borobodur in June this year with my daughter Inas. Without a guide, I despaired at ever finding the actual illustrations (miles of them all around the temple) I was interested in, i.e. the above scenes. But I did! Just about the time I was to give up, I turned the corner and found, first the ship! Then the court life illustrations. The pot above, is proof that centuries later, and we still love the same beautiful things in life. I have such terra-cotta pots in my garden and the house.


Inas, at the site of Prambanan
where 1000 temples were built in a night
(I'll tell you about it one day, Brian)



The Nusantara Princess : Tengku Mariam of Pahang



she played 

the gamelan. its
magic carried across the paddy fields
took us to another time

of ancient ways. nature's 
gifts that subtly change the landscape
the river. the mountains. left behind.

a princess. on 
an amazing ship with white sails
cutting the waves. embracing the wind

she traveled to 
unknown shores. new ways.
a stranger. a husband

people to rule. a kingdom
to enchant. to love. a queen now
they worshiped her.

her legacy




___________________________________


Sailendra. Campa. Majapahit. Patani. Inderapura.

The Nusantara princesses were key to many peaceful treaties. It would be shocking today, but in reality, these marriages still exist throughout royal houses from the east and the west.

Tengku Mariam of Pahang married Sultan Sulaiman of Terengganu in 1913 and brought a full gamelan set with her. The Sultan loved his queen deeply and did everything he could to give the gamelan the exposure and support to become popular and revered. The Tengku Ampuan recorded the dances and her principal dancers taught other palace performers this graceful art form and orchestra music.

Once again I find the story of how the late Mubin Sheppard saved a piece of our heritage. Years later he found Tengku Ampuan Mariam's gamelan set in Istana Kolam, set about finding the old masters to revive the art.

It is said that this song, the Lambang Sari was written by Tengku Ampuan Mariam herself.










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