Ellipsis

I read two poems by Mary Oliver this week titled - "Mysteries, Yes" and "Percy (Nine)". I have been away for a couple of months and in this time I have been slow reading the volume Devotions - Selected poems by Mary Oliver. Her poems have a way of slipping into your day without attracting any attention, have a way of being on your mind without you explicitly recalling any of the words. Her poems truly are a mood, one that I have been consciously slipping into these busy days in the last two months. So much so that I hope to read at least a few more of her poems from this exceptional volume in the upcoming episodes. Stay tuned :)  I read the poems from the physical copy of Devotions that I have with me. The poem "Mysteries, Yes" is from her book Evidence, and "Percy (Nine)" is from Dog Songs.  The host, Ravneet Bawa as - @two_thirds_beneath on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter    Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com  Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or from books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

I read two poems by Nissim Ezekiel this week titled - "Goodbye Party for Miss Pushpa T. S." and "Jewish Wedding in Bombay". Nissim is an iconic Indian poet, most active in the decades right after India's Independence. I find his poems delightful, raw postcards from a time in Bombay that I haven't seen and know little of. In his work, he often used 'Indian English', a term that raises as many heckles as it amuses. I am in the amused camp. Please listen :) I read the poems from the All Poetry website -  https://allpoetry.com/Jewish-Wedding-in-Bombay https://allpoetry.com/poem/14330576-Goodbye-Party-For-Miss-Pushpa-T.S.-by-Nissim-Ezekiel The host, Ravneet Bawa as - @two_thirds_beneath on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter    Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com  Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or from books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

I read a poem by Billy Collins this week titled - "Advice to Writers". It's a short and clear poem that lays out a day in the life of a writer and how he creates the space outside and within to invite inspiration. One that you can use no matter what profession you are in. The poem is a reminder of how you can create a day free of distractions yet not alienating for inspiration to get your day's work done. I read the poem from The Alipore Post newsletter - https://thealiporepost.substack.com/p/135-on-living-alone  The host, Ravneet Bawa as - @two_thirds_beneath on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or from books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

I read my own poems this week. Most of these are lockdown meditations from last year and this. Perhaps you won't find them entirely disappointing. Listen in! :) Hopeful is available on my blog here Some of my other published work is linked from this link.tree page. The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @two_thirds_beneath on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or from books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

I read two poems this week by Mary Oliver. She is the one poet who always finds the right words to articulate the moment. In this episode I read - "Every Morning" which contextualises death and how we become used to it. The second poem is "The Real Prayers Are Not The Words But The Attention That Comes First". Listen in!    I discovered Every Morning on this link first- https://www.instagram.com/p/CNusJjcB3yh/ However sharing another link here from The Poetry Foundation for both poems: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/browse?contentId=42419 https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/browse?contentId=36384 The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @two_thirds_beneath on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or from books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

I read "Keeping Things Whole" by Mark Strand. This poem is one of my absolute favourites, the sort you scribble on a piece of paper and keep in your purse. A reminder that we all fragment, that we all also cause others to fragment, and then we moe. We move, we heal. Listen in!   The poem I read is from: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47541/keeping-things-whole The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @two_thirds_beneath on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or from books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

I read "The female of the species" by Gauri Deshpande. Last episode we read about flying penises that don't quite fly. This episode is an epic Indian confessional poet writing about the daily experience of being a woman and finding comfort in mundane domesticity with a community of other women.  Listen in!  The poem I read is from: http://daak.co.in/passionate-warriors-weary-wars-gauri-deshpandes-confessional-poetry/  The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @two_thirds_beneath on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or from books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

Or when it doesn't? In this episode, I read "Lorena" by Lucille Clifton. Short, wicked poem that is fun just as it is but that is important if you really look. Saying anything more is to give away the poem. Listen in!  The poem I read is from: https://www.theparisreview.org/poetry/1598/lorena-lucille-clifton The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @two_thirds_beneath on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or from books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

In this episode, I read "$$$$$$" by Charles Bukowski. It's a lyrical poem, rather fun if you don't take it seriously. But I urge you to take it seriously. To listen to it once for the poem itself, and then another one for the voice of the poet, for what he is really saying. Listen in! The poem I read is part of the anthology - Love is a dog from hell. Profile: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/charles-bukowski S1E9: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1fmYFIScp34NdY1MoQeT65?si=baee3d43c80948da The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @two_thirds_beneath on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

In this episode, I read "Fine" by Kim Addonizio. It's a short poem and complements the poem Peers that I read in Episode 1 really well. Peers was about looking back at time, this one is set in the present and an incisive look at the present at that. It may feel morbid but listen to the alternative interpretations I present. Listen in! The poem I read can be accessed here - https://poetry.lib.uidaho.edu/category/kim-addonizio/ The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @two_thirds_beneath on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

In this episode, I read "Peers" by Craig Morgan Teicher. I loved reading this poem in the latest issue of The New Yorker magazine. Link below. The poem is a piece of contemplative nostalgia, a trek down to your early twenties, a rumination of what we thought we had ahead of us, of dreams and ambition. And then a turning over the leaves of memories to see what we actually did, the world we inherited and the world we are preparing to leave as our legacy. Listen in!  The poem I read can be accessed here - https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/04/05/peers The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @two_thirds_beneath on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com  Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

Well, Ellipsis is back. You didn't think it would happen? Neither did I after all this time :) But poetry and me and you, we are suckers for misery, we are suckers for hope. And a poem or two is always around to give you company here on Ellipsis. This short introduction is a primer to Season 2, some changes and some chatter. Thank you for listening so far and welcome back to a few more of them poems. And please check out the awesome new cover art that my friend Sudeepti Tucker (Instagram:@sudeepti.tucker) made for my new season. This girl has my heart! My poetry is now over at @two_thirds_beneath on Instagram and I am on @one_third_above - follow for updates or subscribe to Ellipsis on your streaming app to stay in touch.

In this episode, I read “Hazaron Khwahishain Aisi" by Mirza Ghalib. This is also the last episode of Ellipsis Season-1. I will be taking a 4 week break after this and return on the first Tuesday of November. I hope Ellipsis nudged you gently into reading and exploring poetry on your own a bit. When I look back I see several things I could have done better and differently but my one big hope was to have some of you listen to poems and see for yourselves how beautifully they capture the universal and unique aspects of the human condition. And if in that I succeeded, I would think of this as a job well done. Listen in!  The poem I read can be accessed here - https://www.rekhta.org/ghazals/hazaaron-khvaahishen-aisii-ki-har-khvaahish-pe-dam-nikle-mirza-ghalib-ghazals The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @one_third_above on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com  Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

In this episode, I read "Litany in which certain things are crossed out" by Richard Siken. It's a long, long poem and one that keeps you hooked from sentence to sentence, line break to line break. It's a poem where the scenes shift and unfold almost like a play on stage. It is the litany of a lover who loves too much and believes he gets too little in return. He knows he loves too much. He knows he shouldn't. Yet he finds it hard to love any other way, even when love fails him completely, and forever. Listen in! The poem I read can be accessed here - https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48158/litany-in-which-certain-things-are-crossed-out The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @one_third_above on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

In this episode, I read "You bring out the Mexican in me" by Sandra Cisneros. It is one of my favourite poems, originally written in 1994 and from her anthology Loose Woman. I have tried to include as many translations as possible in the recitation since it has some phrases and words in Spanish and some specific Mexican references. Trust me the beauty of the poem is in its rhythmic passion so do give it a listen. And if you find yourself unable to relate to it, head over to my adaptation of this poem that I have included in a subsequent bonus episode :) Listen in! The poem I read can be accessed here - https://www.reddit.com/r/Poetry/comments/epg9ke/poem_you_bring_out_the_mexican_in_me_by_sandra/ The host, Ravneet Bawa as - @one_third_above on Instagram @maikeya on Twitter Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

As promised in Ep-48, this is my adaptation of the Sandra Cisneros poem "You bring out the Mexican In Me" from her anthology "Loose Woman". I hope you enjoy this version too, as well as the masterful original I the previous episode.

In this episode, I read "Possibilities" by the Polish poet Wislawa Szymborska. I love the genuine and generous voice that Wislawa lends to her poetry. It is the voice of a seasoned and loveable aunt, the voice of one who you go to for advice about the secret to a happy marriage and also to rant about climate change. It is the voice of one who observes keenly, remarks subtly and maintains sharply. This poem is called Possibilities and is a way of saying only that I prefer many things, and so must you. We can all live here, side by side and question still the reason for being. Listen in!           The poem I read can be accessed here - https://www.brainpickings.org/2015/03/18/amanda-palmer-wislawa-szymborska-possibilities-poem-reading/ More of her poems - https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/wisaawa-szymborska#tab-poems The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @one_third_above on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com                              Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

In this episode, I read a few poems by Robert Frost - three in fact none of which I have read before - Dust of Snow, Neither Far Out Nor In Deep, On looking up by chance at the constellations. I find Robert Frost's poems rhythmic, simple and insightful. Like I say in the episode he has the attentive poet's gift of taking a momentary observation and making it momentous. There is a lilt in his poems that belies the seriousness of his observation and his introspection. If you are having a dull day, find yourself five of his poems and just read. It is immensely uplifting. Listen in!          The poem I read can be accessed here - https://allpoetry.com/Robert-Frost   The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @one_third_above on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com                              Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

In this episode, I read "Don't Let Me Be Lonely" by Claudia Rankine. It is a collection of poems written in response to 9/11. about a decade back. It has a series of meditations on alienation, segregation and racism. In response to the anger in America post 9/11 and rising crime against ethnic minorities, Claudia's response in this poem was one of feeling abject sadness and loneliness. This poem particularly was heartbreaking in many ways, one just the subject of feeling dead owing to a bleak state of affairs but also the red tape of procedure, one that is bereft of all humanity and understanding, one where those who are meant to protect you, hurt you. Listen in!          The poem I read can be accessed here - https://poets.org/poem/dont-let-me-be-lonely-there-was-time  The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @one_third_above on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com                             Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

In this episode, I read "Life's Work" by Brenda Shaugnessey. It is a simple poem really, some might call it pedestrian. But doing so is to not engage with all the confessional poetry coming out of the life and rumination of so many women who spend their lives living within the confines of their home, talking to objects as people come and people go. It is possible and often the case that we reject the lived experiences of homemakers as being of little cultural importance. I find this not only discriminatory but also diminishing for all of humanity. Apart from the fact that these situation exist because of centuries of historical, economic imperatives with imbalances built into them, there is also the fact that there has been little action to reverse it. And refusing to engage with the demographic is in my eyes a disservice far worse. An adjacent thought is also how the richness of inner lives, the evolution of personal philosophy does not germinate uniquely from the traditional experience of going far and out for work and exploration, an interior exploration is just as rich. And if it is weary, so is the weariness of a life of economic reasons and social norms. Listen in!         The poem I read can be accessed though The Paris Review Daily Poem newsletter. You can sign up for it online. The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @one_third_above on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com                            Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

In this episode, I read a couple of different pieces - excerpts from an essay by Zadie Smith called "Something to do" and a nazm by Faiz Ahmed Faiz called "Kuch ishq kiya, kuch kaam kiya". This is a rather unique episode and a unique pairing. But both of these pieces came to me this week and I couldn't help but connect the dots. It is an experimental episode, one I hope you will like. It is an attempt to understand the significance of time, what constitutes a good definition for work and what does Love have anything to do with either. I doubt you haven't asked these questions of yourself at some point in time. Here's an attempt at stringing together some answers from the stellar artists featured today!        The poem I read can be accessed here - https://www.rekhta.org/nazms/kuchh-ishq-kiyaa-kuchh-kaam-kiyaa-kuchh-ishq-kiyaa-kuchh-kaam-kiyaa-faiz-ahmad-faiz-nazms And the Zadie Smith essay excerpts are from -   https://www.brainpickings.org/2020/08/13/zadie-smith-intimations-something-to-do/ The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @one_third_above on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com                           Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

In this episode, I read "Slow Dance" by Matthew Dickman. Matthew writes of slow dances with strangers and with lovers, with siblings and with orangutans and what they feel like. By the end of the poem he reminds you of any that you might have had and makes you envious if you haven't yet slow danced with someone. Read, listen, and the next time you have the mauka bhi and dastoor bhi, please hold that hand and lean in!       The poem I read can be accessed here - https://allyourprettywords.tumblr.com/post/120985473153/slow-dance-matthew-dickman  The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @one_third_above on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com                          Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

In this episode, I read "If You Knew" by Ellen Bass. Ellen asks in this heartfelt poem about what if the time you meet someone is the very last not because you do not meet them again but because it is a few moments or days before they die. You do not know, but what if you knew? Complete strangers. Your one tiny opportunity to be kind and warm. It's a simple poem and it caught in my throat when I read it because of a related and strong memory I have. So I broke my streak of Indian poets to read this one and share my story. I hope you like it . Listen in!      The poem I read can be accessed here - https://tinyletter.com/thealiporepost/letters/105-if-you-knew The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @one_third_above on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com                         Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

In this episode, I read "Marriages are Made"  and "Advice to Women" by Eunice de Souza. Eunice writes with a kind of honesty and sparseness. The only way to tell it is what she offered as advice to a young male colleague - it is to tell it without sentimentality. These are two short poems, one is what you learn from cats about otherness in love. The other is the anatomy of matchmaking in India true certainly for her time but not ancient just yet . Listen in!     The poem I read can be accessed here - https://pyotra.tumblr.com/post/126969555456/eunice-de-souza-marriages-are-made And the obituary I refer to with her photograph is here - https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/ov6nx8ETf1e3rna12xaK2I/Eunice-de-Souzas-life-in-poems.html The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @one_third_above on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com                        Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

In this episode, I read "Aligarh"  by Akhil Katyal. And two bonus poems because I have a mountain sized crush on him.  Continuing my exploration of India poets in English and in translation. Since the only other Indian language I can read is Hindi, it is hard for me to access material in other languages unless already translated and well, the loss is entirely mine. The poems today touch upon the subject of identity and the communication of identity, about what is acceptable. I find these two poems, both on the subject of queerness interesting when juxtaposed with each other. One is Akhil's lament about how to explain queerness let alone claim it in a coloured and intolerant world. The other is a private conversation with his mother, her question not one of morality but of concern not "log kya kahenge?" but "tum theek rahoge?". Listen in!    The poems I read can be accessed here - https://scroll.in/article/911994/politics-history-and-memory-merge-in-these-poems-on-kashmir-and-beyond And -  http://poetry.sangamhouse.org/2018/09/by-akhil-katyal/   The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @one_third_above on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com                        Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

In this episode, I read "An Introduction"  by Kamala Das. This is the 5th poem by a woman Indian poet that I am reading on this podcast. I used the opportunity to compare the themes which preoccupy women against those that make up the verses of men. This is by no means an exhaustive study and only a morning lamentation as I scrolled through the poems I have covered.  And perhaps deserves a deeper analysis. But in this poem here, because of the nature of this poem I was forced to consider what women think of when they write - an introduction is in that sense both just a poem but also a catalog of thoughts that occur to a woman as she sits down to introduce herself. This isn't flowery prose or melodic verse, there are no strong visual metaphors. There is only a simple telling of her story interspersed with the stories of all women as she knew them. Listen in!    The poem I read can be accessed here - https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/an-introduction-2/   The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @one_third_above on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com                       Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

In this episode, I read 3 poems by Rahat Indori Sahib. He passed away this week and I have been revisiting his book of poetry "Do Kadam Our Sahi" and his songs all this week. Several of his couplets are splashed all over social media and for good reason. His poetry was both full of passion and the kind that you could own immediately. It connects, it bothers you, it soothes you - it is medicine for troubled souls, and we are all troubled to some degree or more. Listen in to this episode and I hope it will get you started on a journey to discover him for yourself!    The song "Do Kadam Aur Sahi" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-v-K_XisNOs The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @one_third_above on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com                       Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

In this episode, I read "Letter To My Mother"  by Dom Moraes. I have been chided by friends for not doing enough Indian poets so I am shifting the balance beginning this week. And I am almost ashamed by how little I know and have read of poets from India writing in English. It must also have to do with how little is catalogued and accessible. This poem was a hard one to read and recite since it speaks of mental illness in the immediate family. Dom wrote this for his mother who spent a large part of her adult life committed to asylums. This poem is both an apology and an endearment. Listen in!   The poem I read can be accessed here - https://dokumen.tips/documents/letter-to-my-mother-589063cc40898.html  The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @one_third_above on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com                      Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

In this episode, I read Fahmida Riaz's "Tum bilkul hum jaise nikle" and its English translation. This is a compelling poem, written and recited by Fahmida with a mischievous tinkle all her own. It is a voice that only poets can use to present an unpopular opinion, and get away with it. She wrote it back in 1996 and the recitation linked here is from the year 2014. Both were times that called for us to reflect if we may have taken belief too far, to the detriment of the idea of India. This past week felt a little like that too. Listen in!  The poem I read can be accessed here - http://daak.co.in/loving-admonishment-fahmida-riazs-poem-tum-bilkul-hum-jaise-nikle/ Please listen to the original in Fahmida Riaz's voice here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-g53ovsO5ak&feature=emb_logo  The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @one_third_above on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com                     Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

In this episode, little prize for guessing , I read e.e. cummings and his poem [as freedom is a breakfastfood]. This poem is written in trademark cummings style and you must listen to his original recitation at the link I share below. It is a poem about love and life and all time. How love and sky and time are vast and endless. But our lives are but a leaf on the tree of time. And this must make us examine what we think of as right and correct and normal in the world. He turns imagery around and weaves in contradictions. To the reader's surprise they don't seem so far out of the realm of imagination. That is e.e. cummings for you, if you give him a chance, he is acid on toast. Listen in! The poem I read can be accessed here - https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/52946/as-freedom-is-a-breakfastfood  The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @one_third_above on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com                    Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

In this episode, I read "Ghazal" by Agha Shahid Ali, a Kashmiri American poet. He has a trademark style of writing English verse in the ghazal form. And while his words are not as readily accessible, the reading is joyful indeed because of the lilt and repetition. His poems span his Kashmiri childhood and his American life as an academic and a writer. This poem is a rendering of a personal past and a lament on the state of the world. And that makes it interesting. Because we often do the latter and we can do little about it but what we can influence is perhaps how we live and we almost never work on our relationships and behaviour. Listen in!  The poem I read can be accessed here - https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43279/ghazal-56d221fe8a756 The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @one_third_above on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com                   Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

In this episode, I read "The Lime Green Clasp" by Finuala Dowling, a poet of South African origin. I like her modern, light yet poignant collection and today I have been reading from "Pretend You Don't Know Me". This lilting verse is an ode to both voyeurism and beauty, often hard to achieve. And while at it, it paints a vivid picture and makes a compelling case for women to be able to swing free. I recommend the whole book, but get a taste for Finuala's talent through this introduction of a poem. You will never look at lime green the same way again. Listen in! The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @one_third_above on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com                  Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

In this episode I read "Kindness" by Naomi Shihab Nye. This beautiful poem is therapy in words. You listen to it and let it wrap itself around you like the quilt from your childhood bed. Listen in if you need it. If you need to today, of all days, need to hear and learn that kindness is both within you and outside of you. It is yours to give, but as it watches over you, it is also yours to receive, if you will let it. Listen in!      The poem I read today is from -  https://poets.org/poem/kindness The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @one_third_above on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com                  Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

In this episode I read "The Three Little Pigs" by Roald Dahl. It is an adaptation of the popular folktale by the same name with a twist in the end. I love poetry that reimagines folktales and fairy tales that have been passed down to children through generations. Most tales had a standard interpretation and very stark whites and blacks to ensure children learnt something while being entertained. Often involving animals, these stories were meant to be an instruction for life. However as we all grow up and learn, perspective is everything and there's always another side to the story. This adaptation though is just a fun interpretation of not just one but two tales and is written in the classic engaging style of Roald Dahl. I tried my hand at sing-song too. Listen in!     The poem I read today is from - https://allpoetry.com/8503201 The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @one_third_above on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com                 Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

In this episode I read Pablo Neruda's "Your Breast is Enough" from his poetry collection Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair. This collection is exactly what the title suggests. It is an intimate collection, bordering on eroticism. Neruda was 20 years old when he published this book. Each poem in here reads like a lament for a girl who isn't around anymore, certainly not in the poet's life. And he has found 20 different ways to tell her that she is unforgettable. Spoiling generations of people with his poetry, making being love sick fashionable, presenting here -Pablo Neruda. Listen in!    The poem I read today is from the book copy I own. Ask me nicely, and I will still not share. The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @one_third_above on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com                Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

In this episode I read Arun Sagar's - Undertow from the Nether Quarterly Journal. Some poems take a narrow experience and express it with such a vivid image that you begin to associate the image with the experience ever after. Emily Dickinson's poem from episode #26 - The Lost Thought was one such poem. I always think of balls of yarn rolling away from me when I lose a thought. This poem by Arun Sagar is a similar one - about having a conversation so engrossing, so removed from the outside world that it subsumes you as you have it but also after when the chaos and distraction of real life subside. Listen in!   The poems I read today are from the links - https://www.instagram.com/p/CCSAcZFJBbA/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @one_third_above on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com               Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

In this episode I continue to explore Emily Dickinson poems. It is impossible to read just one, and you will see why I say so when you listen through this episode. We cover 4 poems, a short couplet on fame, a note on hope, the meaning of success and finally what it is like to have a public persona v/s being a nobody. She will lure you to the pleasures of the solitary low-life by the end of it, but then she wouldn't be the first poet to do so. Listen in!  The poems I read today are from the links - http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/cs6/nobody.html https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/emily-dickinson#tab-poems The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @one_third_above on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com               Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

.. and another one where you had a sort of mental clamour that makes you feel like you are falling into a bottomless hole. Emily Dickinson makes a debut with this episode, with not one but two poems. Emily Dickinson is not a poem, to be read on one day. You will almost alway remark what is the hype about? But if you read her poems as a collection, savour it like you would a whole season you realise Emily Dickinson is not a mood, she is an emotion. In Episode 26 and in the upcoming episode 27 I am exploring five of her poems to give you a sense of what I mean. I hope you will enjoy this little stroll through the garden of her verse. Listen in! The poems I read today are from the links - http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/cs6/cleaving.html http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/cs6/funeral.html The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @one_third_above on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com              Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

In this episode, I read the lyrics to a Gulzar song - "Mera Kuch Samaan" from the movie Ijaazat. I am an ardent Gulzar fan so I knew he will make an appearance here. I considered what song of this poet-lyricist to pick for this 25th celebration episode, and this song felt just right. The character this song is written for in the movie is a poet. Also the song itself is more a poem than a song. It is a missive from an ex-lover to a now married boyfriend after he returns a few of her possessions from their time together. The poem asks the question, through a series of trite memories compiled in a list, what is the right way to apportion shared belongings like memories once the relationship ceases to exist. The lovely Asha Bhosle has lent her voice to the song in the movie. Watch the movie and listen to the album this weekend. The song on Spotify here: https://open.spotify.com/track/7tpz4ZWYrmvvGBH1P2zwsC The host, Ravneet Bawa as - @one_third_above on Instagram @maikeya on Twitter Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

In this episode, I read a poem by Rachel Wiley - "Dry Cake, Wishes and Tap Water Dreams". Rachel Wiley is a performance poet and this poem is one sure to divide the world into two - all women and ex-boyfriends. It's a compilation of wishes each of which is rich with imagination and humour. The fun of this poem is in listening to it, so you must tune in now. Even better is to follow the YouTube link I share to her original rendition which is a slightly longer version of the poem. I read “On the birthday of the ex-boyfriend who told me I was too intense...”, from an Instagram handle I follow. This poem is special also because it was the first ever poem I recited on stage at an open mic, right before I read some of my own poetry. Come, join me and make your evening sing :) I read from the Instagram handle of StateOfTheArtOfficial - https://www.instagram.com/p/B0D1SzrFVbZ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link       And this is the link to Rachel Wiley reading this poem - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpJn7y8kT-w The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @one_third_above on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com            Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

In this episode, I read a fragment of a letter by Margaret Mead. It isn't strictly a poem even though it reads like one. It is a letter she wrote to her soulmate about a dream she had about the meaning of life. This is a complex question and no one yet has "solved" it even though many have tried. I suspect this is so because there are either as many meanings as people alive, or none at all. We are all stumbling our way through living, facing this question at different points in time, with incomplete access both into the nature of the universe and the nature of the mind to guide us to an answer. What I am interested in is why does this question arise at all. That is my pursuit. Meanwhile, Margaret has an excellent perspective on this, one that she covers in the piece I read today. I read from the Brain Pickings website - https://www.brainpickings.org/2014/02/25/margaret-mead-meaning-of-life/      The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @one_third_above on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com           Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own. https://www.brainpickings.org/2014/02/25/margaret-mead-meaning-of-life/

In this episode, I read "Man and Camel" by Mark Strand. A man sits on his porch on his 40th birthday and writes of what reads like a surreal experience. Written in free verse, it has as many meanings as you have dimensions. Read, and with every re-read the poem refreshes itself and you notice something you hadn't seen there before. Mark Strand's book is currently on my bedside, and I read a couple of poems every morning before I begin my day. This poem was about the end of desire one day, private joys without audience the next and just as I was reading it for the recording, it seemed to me a poem about a man at the threshold of passing over from living for himself to recognising the world. Listen in! It's so complicated, its quite nearly fun.       I read from the book - Collected Poems - Mark Strand, from the section - Man and Camel.     The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @one_third_above on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com          Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

In this episode, I read "Hume Chahiya Tha Milna" by Parveen Shakir and it's English translation, "We Ought To Have Met" by Raza Rumi.  Unrequited love is often painful, but it is especially painful in Urdu, less so in Hindi and almost painless in English. I say that only half in jest. If you look at the documented and undocumented tradition of writing about love, romance, desire and the allied, you will find such a rich legacy in the Urdu language that you won't disagree with me. This piece for instance is timeless. All lovers everywhere who had their paths cross but not converge, will read this poem and find their heart skip a beat. Why don't you listen in and smile along?      I read from the Poets.org website here -  http://daak.co.in/met-unrequited-untimely-love-parveen-shakirs-verse/    The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @one_third_above on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com          Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

In this episode, I read "Atlantis - A Lost Sonnet" by Eavan Boland.  2020 refuses to relent. It is a crash course in endings and loss. This poem by Eavan who passed away just this April, is an evocative question and answer. She begins with a reference to the mythical city of Atlantis and asks how can a city just disappear? But is then reminded of things and people who have disappeared from her life. She comes to a conclusion both rich and humbling about how human beings deal with loss. Listen in!     I read from the Poets.org website here -  https://poets.org/poem/atlantis-lost-sonnet   The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @one_third_above on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com         Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

This is a bonus episode. We are on the theme of desire and one of my first published poems was on the same theme. Sharing here the link to the original published piece. And listen in if you want to hear me recite it. https://desiwriterslounge.net/articles/not-entirely-appropriate/

In this episode, I read "This Sugar" by Aimee Nizhukumatathil.  It is a vivid poem, ripe with imagery set in free verse and a modern context. It unfolds over a dinner between two people, who appear to not have sanction to fulfil their desire of and for each other. It is a fun poem, and won't leave you sad with longing. If anything it is powerful and makes the point about all desire, that it comes as clams fall into the shoreline with an impending storm i.e. you likely have no control over a bubbling desire as you tumble and toss into it. You can choose to act on it or not, but the underlying emotion will make its presence felt nevertheless. And that is what makes this poem honest and fun. Listen in!    I read from the Poets.org website here -  https://poets.org/poem/sugar  The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @one_third_above on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com        Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

In this episode, I read "Antidotes to Fear of Death" by Rebecca Elson. This is from her collection - A Responsibility to Awe.  It's a short poem written by one who was both an astronomer and a poet. I find the scientists who write poetry fascinating. They have one firm footing past the door of theorems and proofs and research that definitively expands our knowledge. And at the same time they acknowledge all that is yet to be fully understood, that is beyond truisms and falsehoods, that which we cannot measure and define. She wrote this poem in response to her illness, blood cancer that she lost her life to at the age of 39. It is an ode to life but also an acceptance of death as a gateway to another form of being in this universe. Listen in!    I read from the Brain Pickings website here - https://www.brainpickings.org/2020/04/10/antidotes-to-fear-of-death-rebecca-elson/  The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @one_third_above on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com       Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

In this episode, I read "On Friendship" by Kahlil Gibran. This is from his 1923 book "The Prophet" which has been translated into a 100 languages and is now available in the public domain. It's a book of prose poetry and this verse today is a response to the question "What is friendship?" I find it reassuring that no matter how much the world changes things like love, friendship, kindness, goodness of heart, desire, envy - these things that make us human stay the same. This here about friendship, and the rest some other time. Listen in!   I read from the Poets.org website here - https://poets.org/poem/friendship-1 The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @one_third_above on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com      Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

In this episode, I read the poem - Caged Bird by Maya Angelou. The events of this past week are matched only in the outrage following it. In the middle of the Covid19 pandemic, we find ourselves foraging for bright stories. We are already on the edge of our seats. So an event like George Floyd's murder at the hands of a white policeman brings out not just our sympathy and frustration but a sort of rage that was waiting to boil over. Trevor Noah spoke about it in a video and I could barely contain my tears. I had to question, if the violence and the looting following the murder is indeed an outsized response to the murder? As always, I found refuge if not answers in art. In Maya Angelou's poetry and words. That speak simply but powerfully of the difference in the songs of a free bird and a caged bird. And how far you can hear the song that yearns for freedom. Listen in!  I read from the Poetry Translation Centre website here - https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48989/caged-bird The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @one_third_above on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com      Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

In this episode, I read the Hindi poem - Paani Ka Rang by Mohan Rana.  And it's English translation The Colour of Water translated by Bernard O'Donaghue. This poem is a pocket sized gem. And perfect to get you in a poem-y mood as the weather looks to turn and rains are knocking at the door. It asks if all colour were to be washed away, will we then wear the colour of water? It asks, that if memories are colours, and if we didn't have any, will we flow easy and transparent like water. Listen in, make it a Friday sundowner.  I read from the Poetry Translation Centre website here - https://www.poetrytranslation.org/poems/the-colour-of-water/original   The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @one_third_above on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com     Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

This is a bonus episode to expand on the poem in Episode #14. I take a shot at explaining how linguistic devices have been used to create an emotional landscape in the poem Yesterday by WS Merwin.