Issue 3
Poetry Splash! - http://members.rediff.com/poetrysplash
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'Poetry Splash! E-zine' Issue **003**
Date : 15 November 1999
Frequency : Once every 15 days.
Arvind, Sangita, Pushkin Passey
http://members.rediff.com/poetrysplash
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CONTENTS
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1. Forms Of Poetry (The Octave)
2. ...The Delectable, Memorable Poem... (Pooh's problem-solving song)
3. Poetry In/From India (My Simple Poem...Ganeshwar Mishra)
4. Your Requests! (Dr. Seuss Explains Computers)
5. Let Us Connect With Poetry (from 'The Holy Geeta')
6. A Poem For You All -- From Me (You too are a poet!...Arvind Passey)
7. Comments, Ideas, Contributions from Readers (From Dr Parker's Newsletter)
**********************************************A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR...
Hello everybody,
-- train your thoughts, for they become your words.
-- train your words, for they become your actions.
-- train your actions, for they become your habits.
-- train your habits, for they will become your character.
-- train your character, for it becomes your destiny.
What I've written above looks and sounds almost like a cliche...something
that one feels one has read it just yesterday. Thats the beauty of such
sentences. They are so much like the girl-or-the-guy-next-door, they are
so much attractive and tempting, they are so much adoptable...and yet,
they remain a distant dream unless one TRAINS. The keyword is
'riyaz'...which is Urdu for training that takes place with a regularity.
This training has to be a daily habit. Only then does it (the elements of
this training) evolve into a power that awakens the creative giant within
each of us!
Think about it!
'Training' and 'awakening the creative giant within' are a part of our own
complete selves. The parts that we forget sometimes. To make us remember
them, there is one great newsletter brought out by Dr Charles Parker that
you all must really subscribe. You'll find the details in the last section
of this issue.
For those of you who had missed the earlier issues: Yes! they too are
there on the Poetry Splash! website now. Just click on the archives.
There are a few more *new* sections there...and they include a page on the
characterstics and address of poetry publishers from UK.
I would appreciate if someone could send me US-poetry-publisher info.
Looking forward to your comments/contributions.
--asp
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
--* Forms Of Poetry *--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The OCTAVE.
Why I have chosen to discuss this form is because the form is easy to
adopt...and the aim is to make you all write poetry, not just to make you
passively fall in love with it.
Just write 8 lines...in any meter, rhymed or unrhymed...any
length...random or irregular rhymes...WOW! Writing poetry is really that
easy!
There are, of-course, some disciplined forms too.
The ITALIAN OCTAVE is written in iambic pentameter and the rhyme scheme is
abbaabba.
The SICILIAN OCTAVE is also accentual-syllabic. It is a stanza of iambic
pentameter lines turning on two rhymes. It can also be a complete poem.
The diagram of a Sicilian octave would look like:
1. xx xx xx xx xa
2. xx xx xx xx xb
3. xx xx xx xx xa
4. xx xx xx xx xb
5. xx xx xx xx xa
6. xx xx xx xx xb
7. xx xx xx xx xa
8. xx xx xx xx xb
The STRAMBOTTO is a Sicilian octave in hendeca-syllabic lines.
We will discuss the OTTAVA RIMA, the Sicilian Sestet in the next issue.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
--* ...The Delectable, Memorable Poem... *--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(This poem is taken from a book where Pooh, Piglet and friends explore How
to Solve Problems...'Winnie-the-Pooh on Problem Solving' by Roger E.Allen
& Stephan D. Allen.)
Select the problem of the day,
Finding one thats right to do,
You can choose it either way,
You pick it or it picks you.
Observe it very carefully,
"Where to start? Where am I going?"
And don't forget about the bee,
"What's in the way of doing or knowing?"
Learn all you can by asking a lot,
But in the right order, as they are now,
Mostly Whys and then some Whats,
Then Where and When and Who and How.
(And after each, ask Why again.)
Vis-u-a-lize ideas, of-course,
We think our thoughts and hope that they
Will put the cart behind the horse,
And not around the other way.
Employ the best idea found,
And watch what happens most precisely,
Making sure by looking 'round,
That things are working out quite nicely.
>>Hope you have enjoyed this stimulating poem. Read the book too. It is
good!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
--* Poetry In/From India *--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(This poem is written by Ganeshwar Mishra and was first published in 'The
Journal of The Poetry Societr of India' in 1993. I have chosen this poem
as it converts the concept of our connection with poetry into a simple
digestable form. Life itself is poetry.)
MY SIMPLE POEM
Once I wrote a simple poem
which critics thought was too difficult.
Lay readers found it too simple.
So no one read it.
The poem was so simple
that its words reflected my face,
like a mirror.
Its emotions turned red
like my blood.
Its vision became transparent
like my dream.
The poem was too simple
to be abandoned in literature
or library. Hence I carried it
everywhere
to my bath, bed, and even to the graveyard.
I carried it everywhere,
for it was me:
my simple poem.
-- A poem by Ganeshwar Mishra.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
--* Your Requests! *--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(There were no requests this time, so here is a poem for you all..it
combines the mind-boggling elements of computing with the freshness of
rhymes...)
Dr. Seuss Explains Computers
If a packet hits a pocket on a socket on a port,
and the bus is interrupted as a very last resort,
and the address of the memory makes your floppy disk abort,
then the socket packet pocket has an error to report.
If your cursor finds a menu item followed by a dash,
and the double-clicking icon puts your window in the trash,
and your data is corrupted 'cause the index doesn't hash,
then your situation's hopeless and your system's gonna crash!
If the label on the cable on the table at your house,
says the network is connected to the button on your mouse,
but your packets want to tunnel on another protocol,
that's repeatedly rejected by the printer down the hall,
and your screen is all distorted by the side effects of gauss,
so your icons in the window are as wavy as a souse,
then you may as well reboot and go out with a big bang,
'cause as sure as I'm a poet, the sucker's gonna hang!
When the copy of your floppy's getting sloppy on the disk,
and the microcode instructions cause unnecessary risk,
then you have to flash your memory and you'll want to RAM your ROM.
Quickly turn off the computer and be sure to tell your mom.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
--* Let Us Connect With Poetry *--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
'The Holy Geeta' or the 'Bhagavadgeeta' contain the lessons that Lord
Krishna had for Arjuna just before the Mahabharata started. The stanzas
from this Holy scripture of the Hindus have the depth and the
'wunderschone' adaptability that gently leads us to connect the celestial
poetry within us with 'maya' or the poetry of existence!
I have for you today a part of the interpretation of Verse 21 from the
Chapter VII of 'The Holy Geeta'.
*Whatsoever form any devotee desires to worship with faith -- that (same)
faith of his I make (firm and) unflinching.*
--The translation of the verse is from the interpretation of 'The Geeta'
by Swami Chinmayananda.
...the Lord says that 'as we think so we become', and the more we become,
the more we think in the same given pattern. Applying this principle of
psychology, it becomes clear, beyond all doubts, why everyone of us is
bound by our own habits, and how we get chained by our own peculiar type
of thinking. The sensuous are not to be condemned, and equally so, the
divine need not be congratulated! Both of them are the exact products of
their individual types of thinking. Thought belongs to the realm of nature
(Prakriti); thoughts create the world and the all-pervading Self is the
Essential Substratum (Purusha) that provides the world-drama with its
stage and scenario.
Now, dont you think that when we create poetry from our thoughts, we are
slowly and convincingly converting our future into a sustainable
social-ecology?
Think about this *connection*!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
--* A Poem For You All -- From Me *--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Life itself is poetry...continuing this line of thought, let me too
attempt a definition. This poem came into existence in 1991.)
YOU TOO ARE A POET
Words in a poem
Are nothing but images
Changing form from
The intangible
To something that can be shared.
Sharing images
Makes us all poets,
Though only those
Who care to write
Are called poets.
--Arvind Passey.
______________________________________________
Comments, Ideas, Contributions from Readers
______________________________________________
>>(It may be sales. It may be poetry. It may be the daily grind. What is
really important and relevant is that it is all related to poetry!...and
TRUTH.)
In dwelling, be close to the land.
In meditation, go deep in the heart.
In dealing with others, be gentle and kind.
In speech, be true.
In ruling, be just.
In business, be competent.
In action, watch the timing.
--Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English, from "The Tao of Sales," by Thomas Behr.
>>(From Dr Charles Parker's Newsletter 'News@PharmU'www.PharmaceuticalU.com
Dr. Charles Parker, Editor: cp@pharmaceuticalu.com
News@PharmU is a free monthly, newsletter designed specifically for the
pharmaceutical industry. The mission is simple: to help pharmaceutical
sales
professionals achieve measurably higher levels of success through advanced
relationship management.)
***
(Send your contribution!
Let them sail
on e-mail
to me, my work-station!)
...Arvind Passey.
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__________________________________________________
Please send us any thoughts, ideas, comments, suggestions,
stories, quotes, jokes or anything you feel that could help
make this a better E-zine. They should, of-course, be linked
to poetry. Please send comments to:
passey@vsnl.com
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Until The Next Issue
Rhyme away your time!
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