100TPC — 2016

THE BeZINE

Welcome to The BeZine’s online,
virtual 100,000 Poets for Change event!

This past week, an international aid convoy in Syria was attacked with devastating results, during a ceasefire. Bombs went off, as usual, in Iraq. They also went off in New Jersey and New York. There were terrorist knife attacks in Jerusalem. And knife attacks also in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Police shot (at least) two unarmed African-Americans in the United States. Police shot “terror suspects” in Israel. Iran arrested dissidents. China gave a dissident’s attorney a 12-year sentence.

Climate change has reduced the arctic ice sheets at record levels, this summer just ended. The Fertile Crescent, where Western civilization began, has suffered such a devastating drought that farmers have fled it for years now—a contributing cause to the Syrian civil war and the refugee crisis. The hardened, drought-stricken soil in the region, broken up by heavy war-machinery, artillery shelling, and bombs, has…

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This post is for The BeZine’s online,virtual 100,000 Poets for Change event.
The 100TPC themes are peace, sustainability, and social justice.

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Why should it matter
if I am a common cur
uncollared, untagged
tail free to wag?
Does it lessen me in any way
to be unaffiliated to another?
Does it make you see red
and chafe at the chains around your neck,
or arms or ankles?

for even the ones that tinkle
ultimately lock you in
So you try to have me mapped

Spread-eagled I wait while
my eyes, sound, shape, colour, dress
and words are pinned
to a name
a place
a tongue
a profession
a family
a community
an ideology
a crime
a sex
an adjective or several
till you run out of tags
And I am cut into perfect squares and
stowed safely away
into the boxes in your brain

A lone tusker
isn’t conducive to trust
He comes bearing roguish tags
being the freest of us all
©Reena Prasad

Reena Prasad’s Poems – ALEPHI

Three poems in Alephi.com- “a new online Magazine from the Indian Subcontinent for all kinds of literary works in English”
‘Camouflage‘, ‘Duryodhan‘ and ‘Un-domesticating‘ published on 21st September 2016.

Camouflage My hair grew all white the night I met my grandmother prodding at the base of a rose bush with a long stick Snakes Grandma? I asked Egg shells, dear said she a little

Source: Reena Prasad’s Poems – ALEPHI

OVER THE RAINBOW : Sophie Boswell

Pamukkale, Turkey                                                                             Pic:Reena Prasad

Very honoured to share a poem by Sophie Boswell, author of Breaking Loose, The Power Of Feng Shui and Journey Of The Mind on my blog. Thank you  Sophie Boswell for your kindness in allowing me to do so and for your generosity.   DO read ‘Over The Rainbow”. In her own words, it is “simple with a little message” but for me it is the infinite wisdom that nothing will wait forever, everything worth dying for lies just here, in full view. Oh for a little courage to stretch those fingers and clasp it! 

OVER THE RAINBOW

You know the childhood story, about the pot of gold
The one to go on searching for, until you’re frail and old
Well, I’m here to tell you that they got the ending wrong
‘Cause it’s not a pot of gold, that will help make you strong

So don’t waste your life, searching long and hard
When the happiness you see can be found in your own back yard
You see, finding the end of the rainbow, can take a long, long time
And when you eventually get there, you’ll find there’s not a dime

YOU are the gemstone of your life
And travelling along that pretty curve, can bring you lots of strife
So the thing I found to aim for, was to make mental jumps
I finally jumped over the rainbow after flattening little bumps

‘Cause gold is just a metal that can melt and flow away
While knowledge and wisdom will fuel you, come what may
So when you read to children, about that pot of gold
Teach them to jump hurdles, to see their dreams unfold.
oOo
©Sophie Boswell
From “My Treasure Trove of Poems”

To connect with and buy her books. CLICK HERE

Duane’s PoeTree: Reena Prasad writes

Someone Came Knocking at Duane’s PoeTree

If the scene could hold the eyes
like eyes cling to passing scenes
Yours and mine wouldn’t be strangers still

Source: Duane’s PoeTree: Reena Prasad writes

Frozen Bits

Past the awkwardness

of walking with newly protruding contours
of being teased for staring a minute too long
of talking with cracked voices and buck teeth
of fingers pointing out our differences
of answering hormone-dialled phone calls
of overpowering our own mental boobs
of not knowing the art of holding hands
of looking nothing like movie people
of breaking family curfews
of pushing propriety off ledges
of dreaming in tangled limbs
of personalising movies clips while learning history
of hiding the chameleons in our ears and cheeks
of arranging accidental touch fests
of embarrassing spurts of honest pubic hair
of fleeing amoebic tendencies
of feigning surprise at being found in the same room
of saying drenched goodbyes while holding two umbrellas
of meeting again in a world grown too small
of letting go because we were still too raw to hold

we meet again

having shed every kind of skin
having spent all our shored-up credits
having produced the same results
experimenting in separate labs

I love it that we are still
awkward
despite all the learning
just frozen bits of time

© Reena Prasad ,Sept 1 ,2016

Looking At Love – Visual Verse

Looking At Love is up at Visual Verse- one of my favorite sites! Read some more scintillating work by extremely erudite writers by clicking on the horse or the link below.

Source: Looking At Love – Visual Verse