poemsbyninotaziz

The Owl who dreams

The moon says farewell

as the owl looks at the clouds

covering the open skies

The moon in my palm

disappears as water slips

through my fingers - farewell love

***

La lune fait ses adieux
quand la chouette regarde les nuages
couvrant le ciel ouvert

by ninotaziz

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There is an idiom in Malay, "Bagai punggok rindukan bulan"

It means, Like the Owl who dreams of the moon, and signifies one pining for a love they can never have.

I am beginning to believe that we Asians, because love was once-upon-a-time a secret, often undeclared affair, play havoc with imagination and thus write poetry to express this deep longing and overwhelming feelings that otherwise would simply drown us (long sentences are bad form but here, it was unavoidable).

We have pantun, ghazal and now sedoka.

This week, Samuel Peralta confirms this once again through his post, The Princess' Poem.

As a poetic form, the sedoka is one of the rarest forms today, not often seen even within its native Japan. And yet, some scholars have contended that one of the greatest poems of the Japanese language is a sedoka – a poem composed as a declaration of love by the Princess Nukata. Read more here

And Kelvin talks about idioms this week. So, here is a Japanese sedoka based on an ancient Malay idiom.

Crossroads

Here, at a crossroad
I stand to be so delivered
Here, at a crossroad
There are no cars, no bikes, no boats
I must pick myself up and work
On choices I inherited
Here at this crossroad.

by ninotaziz. all rights reserved.

For dVerse - thank you Tony for the rondelet.

This was too difficult to do in french!

Liberation

I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.

Frank Herbert

Darkness.
night comes as a heavy cloak
thoughts cloud reality, and senses
run amok, beating at my ribcage
this is the moment of truth
can I face down this growing terror
which stays away in light of day
weakened by sheer sunny disposition
yet, at night it rears its ugly fervor
I will face my fear.

Inspiration.
she shies away if inhibited
when all she seeks is permission
granted, to open the path to healing
her light, can't be diminished
once she arrives, all is free
thought. action. passion.
will. solution. gumption. tension.
I no longer ask the question, to be or not to be
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.

Revelation.
I control my destiny, with His grace
so in the darkness that falls, I am comforted
by my prayers and faith, my tears and gratitude
I have a place to call my own, and my children
have known neither real pain nor cruel wrath
slowly, I feel the gentle calm return, I sigh
I breathe, I exhale, I settle to dream
Fear subsided into a gentle reminder to last
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye
- to see its path.

Self discovery.
Freedom from self persecution
I am here, giving my all to this life
Freedom from self denial, I choose
to walk through, eyes wide open
I stand to learn. to taste. to gain.
this is my quest. my all. my legacy.
the darkness will be lifted, my heart
will sing, like a nightingale again
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
- Only I will remain.

by ninotaziz. all rights remain.

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Samuel Peralta #Semaphore is a genius at excelling in both the world of science and art. Poetry to be specific. And he inspires us over at dVerse with carefully worded introductions to the greater playground of poetry.

It's okay, I missed the deadline. But not the lesson.

Frank Herbert is my all-time favorite writer. It is not by chance I write in both prose and poetry today.

This form is called the glosa. It was the form of choice by the likes of Neruda and Page. I am glad I discovered it today. Thank you, Sam.