Monday 26 November 2018

Dawn - A Poem.


My sixth tribute is to Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822), who was one of the major English Romantic poets of the 2nd generation.

He was regarded as a fine lyric, as well an influential & philosophical poet in the English language.

I have used some prompts from Shelley's Poem, 'The Triumph of Life' to pen my verse.

Awakened Earth
Mountain snows 
Kiss of day
Smiling air
Melodious dew
Sweet dreams brood
Sleeping tempest

***
Celebrate 'The Triumph of Life',
dispel darkness, destroy strife; 
Get inspired by P.B.Shelley, 
pen verses of verve, in a volley...

***
 DAWN

Ravaged by freezing mountain snows,
the leafless trees lay bare;
The sleeping tempest is devoid of her throes,
sweet dreams brood in pre-dawn prayer;

An awakened earth shrugs off her icy shroud,
and welcomes the kiss of day with flair;
Famished nestlings chirp clear and loud,
Melodious dew sings, in the smiling air...

***

Images: 1. Pinterest 2. Deviantart

Monday 12 November 2018

Companion : A Poem.


When hurdles arrive as a battalion
& raging tempests form,
we all crave a companion
to help us weather the storm.

To jump in joy or suffer in gloom,
to brave boredoms of numbing norm;
To share a hug & balance on a bloom,
we need sunshine to smile after the rainstorm.

***

Image:Ajar Setiadi

Saturday 10 November 2018

The Lady of Shalott - A Tribute Poem.


This poem is my fifth tribute to an English poet. This is in memory of the haunting lyrical ballad by Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809 -1892), 'The Lady of Shalott'. 

'The Lady of Shalott' tells the story of a young noble woman imprisoned in a tower on an island near Camelot. She can only watch the outside world through a mirror and must weave what she sees. She has heard that if she looks at Camelot directly, she will be cursed. 

This is one of Tennyson’s most famous and beloved poems. It was originally written in 1832 and was published in 1842.

***

A medieval maiden near Camelot,
is cursed beyond repair;
In hues of reflected images sought,
weaves perpetual webs of despair;
The lonesome lady of Shalott
seeks redemption fair;
Loss in battle of wills well-fought,
a cracked mirror doth impare

From her tower, she departs distraught,
pale attire she doth wear,
Embarks she, on journey untaught
a quest beyond compare
A buoyant boat, she floats for a naught,
heavy heart barren & bare;
In whirls of water she is caught
clutched in a quagmire's glare.

Freezes she, in grasp of a deathly draught,
long before she spies a lair.
Found she is, her skin taut
& eyes in sightless stare.
They bow in grief, bereft of thought
& bow their heads in prayer.

A quandary she stays, in poetry wrought,
eternal in her story unfair
A paradigm of Providence's pitiless plot,
a memory, in millions' minds aware

And thus remains the Lady of Shalott
a testimony, to Tennyson's matchless flair.

***
Images: deviantart & slideshare.net

Sunday 4 November 2018

Heavy Heart - A Poem.


The remains of love
rot in a coffin of betrayal,
murdered by lies,
buried in memories of distress.

Morbid petals mock
as muscles of melancholy
inflict a crush of death,
to remnant hope in duress.

A heavy heart
breathes its last,
smothered by the weight
of its own emptiness.

***

🎨 : Derek Hess.