There is a Poet in You - Random Thoughts # 5

Pondering over the process of growing up – every person seems to have gone through a phase when he (or she) has dabbled in writing poetry. Almost like music - its in everyone's blood; some sing, others hum, some just love to listen or just tap to its rhythm OR some even sing in the bathroom. I have yet to meet a person who never hummed or whistled a song or indulged in some form of music.

Most folks do it, ie., dabble in poetry, early in life; sometimes in the form of riddles or puzzles or even limericks, the more desi ones in sher'o shayari (Urdu couplets) or Hindi poetry. There is no language bar - every language under the sun has its share of poets and poetry.

I remember in my early school days in South Point, Calcutta; after I became a little proficient in the English language (as a shift from my Hindi background), I started writing simple riddles with rhyme e.g.:

"My first is in cover but not in page

My second is in sulk but not in rage

My third is in colour and also in yellow

My fourth is in sick but not in mellow
My last is in seek but not in see,

My whole keeps you as busy as a bee."
(Its obviously a 5 letter word. What am I?)

Then the growing up years introduced me to “Limericks”, they are those short and sweet 5 line poems where the 1st, 2nd and 5th lines rhyme; the 3rd and 4th lines rhyme. There are more rules regarding limericks pertaining to the lengths of the lines, syllables etc.; I shall not be delving into them here – the vast internet and google search shall provide the answers if you really want to know. A common example of a limerick:

Come on everyone let's play holi,
It's great fun if you are in a toli,
Colours and sweets and lots of fun,
Running around is great if in the sun,
Then to conclude have some bhaang ki goli.

(Author Varsha U Nagpal from the webpage "LIMERICKS & TRIVIA (Humour) Unlimited", this limerick has a few Hindi words thrown in holi - Indian Festival of colour, toli - group, bhang ki goli - a tablet of an intoxicant and a psychotropic substances) 

The third phase in the adolescent/teenage stage – when the person becomes a romantic. He may not write poetry – but he lives poetry. His prose also becomes poetic. This is more pronounced if the person falls in love. And that is inevitable. By 'love' I do not mean girl/boy love, it just means falling in love with anybody or anything – maybe a puppy, your garden, the river nearby, the hills or just rain... He could land up writing sonnets, they are those 14 line love poems. If you really want to know more about sonnets, the Wikipedia gives a lot of interesting information.

I have noticed the youngsters who end up writing sonnets or poems at this stage of life – often retain the interest of writing poetry for the rest of their lives.

What is so fascinating in poetry that prose does not have? There is a beautiful quotation by a Chinese philosopher:

"When you write in prose, you cook the rice. When you write poetry, you turn rice into rice wine. Cooked rice doesn't change its shape, but rice wine changes both in quality and shape. Cooked rice makes one full so one can live out one's life span . . . wine, on the other hand, makes one drunk, makes the sad happy, and the happy sad. Its effect is sublimely beyond explanation." - Wu Qiao.

Poetry is fascinating to the mind as well as to the ear, it is said that reading poems can exercise your brain in the same way that playing sport exercises your body.

Currently poetry has widened its horizons to such an extent that a beautiful artistic movie is referred to as “poetry on celluloid”.

Even if you have never written poetry but are fascinated by it – here is a simple guide (courtesy BBC.co.uk), give it a shot – you have nothing to lose; its a win-win situation:

Use your imagination. Add to what you know by making things up. How do you think Roald Dahl could write about living inside a peach, or William Gibson write about being in 'cyberspace', or Tolkien describe a hobbit or an orc? That's the power of a writer's imagination!

Write poem after poem. Often people feel their words have to flow and sound right as soon as they hit the page. If all writers did this nothing would ever get published.

Don't wait for the words and the lines to shape themselves perfectly in your head before you start writing. You can shape your ideas once they are on the paper. The important thing is to get started and keep going.

Think of yourself as a sculptor. You need a vision but you also need something to sculpt with. If you don't get something down on paper then you haven't got any raw materials to work with.

Use a dictionary and thesaurus. They help you make sure your writing is accurate and clear. They can also help spark your imagination - discovering a new word could be the beginning of a new stanza or poem.

Don't let your ideas get away. The best ideas can sneak up on you in the strangest places and at the most awkward times - on the toilet, in the bath, in dreams. Always carry something you can use to record your ideas - a notebook, a dictaphone, an envelope to hold scraps of paper.

Get feedback. Ask people to read your work and learn from their comments. Ask yourself: What can I do to improve my work?


Remember all the English grammar rules can also be ALMOST thrown to the winds in poetry and you will not only be forgiven, but also appreciated - as long as you can make it beautiful. Computers have made this so much simpler.

And most important, remember that a poem does not necessarily mean that you have to look for rhyming words – “free verse” is the current trend and today very beautiful poems are in free verse. Here is one in free verse, for the record:

You are you

And I am I,

The fond 'we'

Fashioned of you and me;

Has gone away,

And with it is gone

The mystic bond

Between you and me.

Now you are you

And I am I.

(Author - KP Varma; Book – Thirty Leaves)

Now is that not a beautiful short and meaningful poetry?

Just pick up your pen, open a notepad and start writing....