Gayathri's Prose and Poetry

  From Friends to Strangers I thought we’d be best friends forever, We used to talk for hours endlessly, We did almost everything together, Is all that just a distant memory?   We used to talk for hours endlessly, We’d gossip, laugh and share our deepest secrets, Is all that just a distant memory? Now we hardly talk for more than a few minutes.   We’d gossip, laugh, and share our deepest secrets, Now we’re like strangers, what happened, my friend? Now we hardly talk for a few minutes, Never did I imagine that this would all come to an end.   Now we’re like strangers, what happened, my friend? We did almost everything together, Never did I imagine that this would all come to an end; I thought we’d be best friends forever. ***** Poetry form: Pantoum 4-6 quatrains lines 2 and 4 of each stanza become lines 1 and 3 of the next stanza lines 1 and 3 of first stanza become lines 2 and 4 of last stanza, but reversed (3 becomes 2 and 1 becomes 4) rhyme scheme: ABAB, CDCD, EFEF...

  A Deepavali to Remember Karthik wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead with his tired hands. He was a little boy, just a few weeks shy of ten.  He, along with other kids his age, had to wake up before five every morning, travel in a bus, and start making firecrackers as soon as they reached the factory. They had to work until six in the evening, in a dark, dingy room, with no protection from the dangerous chemicals.  It was 6 in the evening, and the sun had almost set, casting shadows on the already dimly lit factory.  “That’s it for today,” said a deep voice, who seemed to be in charge. Karthik got up, looking as though the entire life had drained out of him.  There seemed to be no ray of hope left in his life. He trudged slowly to the bus that would take him back home, where he’d sleep, only to wake up to the same fate, the next day.  Karthik sighed. In one week it would be Deepavali, but he wouldn’t be able to light lamps, burst firecrackers or eat a ...

  Trapped ‘Whoosh.’ The wind howled and Lucy could feel a shiver run down her spine as it blew fiercely. Lucy, who had decided to explore the woods behind her house, now found herself lost. Suddenly, she felt something wet on her head. She looked up and was greeted by a drop of water on her face. Within a few minutes, it started to rain. Lucy looked up and saw some light in a tree. She could make out a treehouse amongst the branches. A rope ladder emerged from the branches as if beckoning her to take shelter in the treehouse. Lucy caught hold of the ladder and started climbing up. She could feel the wind picking up, and the rain intensifying. She gripped the ladder firmly and tried to climb as fast as she could. As soon as she reached the entrance, she stepped inside and was surprised to find the treehouse empty. The door suddenly closed behind her and it became quiet. Lucy was surprised by the sudden change of atmosphere. From outside, the treehouse had looked as if ...

  Snow White- Rewritten “Mirror, mirror, on the wall, Who’s the fairest of all?” “Oh Queen, your face is brighter than the shining sun, I wish to say that you’re the fairest one, But that wouldn’t be completely true, For there’s a girl, whose fairer than you, With skin as white as snow, hair as black as ebony, Lips as red as a cherry, and with eyes as blue as the sea.” “Snow White!” the queen exclaimed, a disgusted look on her face, “In this kingdom, she shan’t have a place.” The Queen came up with a plan, She decided to get rid of her, and called her huntsman. The huntsman took Snow White far away from the daylight, Deep into the woods, where it was darker than night. “I cannot kill a poor, little girl,” he said, “The Queen will be furious if she knows you’re not dead, Run away as far as you can, m’lady, I pray for the stars to guide you to safety.”  And he left her in the middle of nowhere, Why was her life all of a sudden a nightmare? She could see menacing figures all arou...

  Questions of a Child “Mummy, what’s there beyond the horizon, Where the sun has disappeared completely? Why does the ocean end there suddenly? Does the sun stay there in isolation, Until it’s time for it to awaken The next day, and paint colors so pretty, Across the blue sky, very artfully?” The little girl had many a question. “The horizon appears as the world’s end, But there are many lands that stretch yonder. Into unknown, the sun seems to descend, But instead, the sun goes to deliver Light to other earthly realms, and ascend Here again, repeating this forever.” *** Poetry Form: Petrarchan Sonnet 14 lines that's split into an eight-line stanza and a six-line stanza The first stanza presents a question and the second stanza answers the question The rhyme scheme for the first stanza is ABBAABBA The rhyme scheme for the second stanza is CDCDCD Each line of the stanza has ten syllables  First published in Penmancy:  https://penmancy.com/questions-of-a-child

  The Season Of Colors ‘Twas that time of the year When the trees were adorned  With many vivid shades of amber, red and gold. The multicolored leaves  Made the brown trees lively, And gave the woods a tranquil, dreamy feeling.   A few leaves gracefully  Swirled down in a spiral, Creating vibrant hues upon the walking trail. Soon the trees would let go Of their rich foliage, Becoming bare, for ‘twas the season change occurred. *** Poetry Form: Alexandrine 4-stanzas, each stanza having 3 lines First line has 12 syllables and is split into 2 lines, comprising two lines of the stanza Third line is the alexandrine (12 syllables following the beat of taDUM/taDUM/taDUM/taDUM/taDUM/taDUM; it follows the iambic pentameter) Non-rhyming, Topic: Poet's choice First published in Penmancy:  https://penmancy.com/the-season-of-colors

  My Only Love Whene’er I see your radiant face, you ignite, Hobbi, A little spark in me, making my dark world bright, Hobbi . I like the way in which you would gently caress my face, As you’d wrap your arms around me and hug me tight, Hobbi . I miss walking with you, hand in hand, on soft desert sands, And talking for hours and hours, late into the night, Hobbi . Never have I loved anyone so ardently before, Why did you leave me in such a terrible plight, Hobbi ? I now drown myself in an intoxicating red wine, To push you away from my mind, with all my might, Hobbi . Ya fo’aadi, come here, listen to my impassioned pleas, And our love story we can continue to write, Hobbi . *** { Ya fo'aadi means 'my heart', and Hobbi means 'my love' in Arabic} Poetry Form: Ghazal Ghazal is originally an Arabic poetry form, dealing with loss and romantic love. 6 couplets (12 lines), where each couplet is a complete thought, but can also be interlinked with the other couplets Rhyme S...