poemsbyninotaziz: July 2013

Love, if you will - A Ghazal

Love has its story to tell, its own will

Embrace thy love or shun it if you will

Love at times, is all that is left inside

When all else is gone except your true will

Love can lift you so high above the clouds

And yet crush you by those with untrue will

Grace all-giving, is the essence of love

Often confused with either virtue, will

Love also burns, simmers and at times, yearns

For release, and test with great undue will

Love can break you, makes you forget reason

Become undone, as passions unglue will

Love - so romantic in ancient legends

Yet the storyteller survives through will

L'amour peut vous casser, vous fait oublier la raison
Comme passion briser votre volonté et résistance

by ninotaziz

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I love the ghazal, but find them very difficult to write. Practice is the only way I can get better at this! For dVersepoets.

A poem by Ilena

When I am angry,

I must not shout.

I must be calm,

And take time out.

When I am sad,

I must not frown.

I must not worry,

But smile like a clown.

When I do not know,

I must not cry.

I must ask,

And think and try.

When I am alone,

I must not fear.

I must go on,

In good cheer.

by Ilena

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After watching a concert a few weeks ago, my eight year old daughter Ilena wrote this poem.

Flying car

Flying car with balloons

any time for me

to go to the mountain or the zoo

by Ikesha

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For the magpie tales

Water water everywhere

There is an island

In my hidden memory

My birth land calls

Tasmania in my dreams

Days of innocence
Picnics by the beach
Til I crossed the Atlantic Ocean
And the great Pacific

I once waved to no one

by the harbor in Port Dalhousie

I think I lost my heart there

he enchanted a younger me

The Welland Canal passed by

My house on Dianne Drive

I called out to the Adriatic Panama

"Take me with you" I felt so alive!

Drenched under the rainbow

of the mists of Niagara Falls

Crashing upon the depths below

in winter and in the fall

And years later, I sat by

The Rideau Canal in summer

Upon its banks of green blades

In absolute languid leisure

Once upon a time, heartbroken
I ran away to New York
Crossed the harbour to Ellis Island
Where I became an adult

Today I stand upon

the shores of the South China Sea

waves lapping at my feet

I am home, contented and free

words by ninotaziz

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Karin of Manicdaily has us dreaming of water everywhere over at dVersepoets

Time markers

autumn leaves

have a way of falling gently

a beautiful descent

each moment marked

by wisdom, regret and love

life's cornerstones

blissful silence

time stood still, its slow descent

grace our homeland

still?

silence béat
nous regardons la descente gracieuse
des feuilles d'automne

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For Haiku Heights and dVersepoets
Updated for Poets United in an exercise
'Close To The Source'

le pantoum
partout dans le monde
ancienne voix

***
Ancient voice in royal discourse
Melaka, Venice of the East
Of diplomacy, of metaphors
Full of wit, of candor, of bliss

Melaka, Venice of the East
A land of grace and dignity
Full of wit, of candor, of bliss
Such was high society

A land of grace and dignity
The pantun, survived at all cost
Such was high society
Even when all was lost

The pantun, survived at all cost
Travelled across the oceans
Even when all was lost
Its brilliance par excellence

Travelled across the oceans
Ancient voice in royal discourse
Its brilliance par excellence
Of diplomacy, of metaphors

Melaka, all is not lost.

***

le pantoum
éclat par excellence
un souvenir

Melaka, Venise de l'Orient

by ninotaziz

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For dversepoets

This is a case of trying too hard I think. But it does cover the story of the pantoum in metaphor.

As Samuel Peralta illustrated in his article in August last year, the pantoum originated from the Malay world's pantun berkait (chained pantun). The first two lines of each stanza are generally a metaphor. Here I attempted to tell the story of what the 15th century Melaka Sultanate in the Malay Peninsula lost, its sovereignity in 1511, but the pantun went on to travel the world.

The verses in French further illustrate the story of pantoum which found a new home in France in the 18th century.

***

From the legendary Malay Hikayat Malim Deman, there is an old royal lullaby composed entirely of pantun berkait, and it must be among the earliest of its forms. It is called Tetak Seranting. Here, I attach a shorter pantun on romantic love - which has always been a popular theme.

Nasi lemak buah bidara
Sayang selasih hamba lurutkan
Buang emak buang saudara
Kerana kasih saya turutkan

For love, I would abandon all else

- Ancient Malay pantun

Sand

In a quiet space at the far corner of the world, there are no humans. The universe is still wondrous magic. The red sun gives way to the red moon, for the earth, though beautiful, is still suffering the dust that mankind leaves behind after a day's hard work. At polluting the air. The winds. The desert.

sand drops silently

into the desert of moons

witness to starburst

In the green verdant lush forest deep in the jungle, there are no humans. The tree canopies open up to the skies of flurrying clouds. The brooks give way to streams to rivers, laboring under the burden of progress that mankind deems so necessary. Polluting the river. The seas. The oceans.

tear drops with a splash

into the yawning ocean

gasping for air -

In the mindless stream of the digital consciousness, there are no humans. The internet is the wondrous highway that connects us all in a mysterious manner. Revolution gives way to revelation to renaissance of thought. Youtube, new media and twitter find their way to be relevant. Polluting the mind. The soul.

sable tombe -

dans le désert de lunes

voit la nuit étoilée

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My Haibun this week for Haiku Heights