Tears

Sometimes 
I see a baby asleep 
rosebud lips parted 
fat cheek squashed 
plump limbs akimbo 
a hint of a smile 
playing on an angelic face 
and my eyes grow moist

Sometimes 
I see an exquisite rose
petals unfurled 
in perfect symmetry
a deep red as though 
dipped in blood 
and tears well up

But sometimes
while doing nothing at all 
an unnamed emotion 
squeezes my heart 
and I cry 

Not all tears need a season
Sometimes they flow 
for no reason at all

© 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Thoughts of You

I fill my days 
with a bit of this 
a dash of that 
to stop myself 
from thinking of you 
But when I read a book 
a character with 
wavy hair 
and twinkling eyes 
reminds me of you 
My eyes freeze 
on the page 
My mind drifts 
to thoughts of you

I listen to music 
the lyrics speak 
of everlasting love 
promises I once 
heard from you 
The song fades 
as my mind drifts 
to thoughts of you

I make myself coffee 
to snap out of this 
melancholic fog 
I spoon sugar 
into my mug -
two spoonfuls - 
that's what you liked 
The milk boils over 
as my mind drifts 
to thoughts of you

Everything I do 
is coloured with 
your memories 
So I do nothing at all 
just sit and gaze 
at the clouds 
I spot one that 
looks like a face - yours

There will never 
be an escape - 
my mind will 
always drift 
to thoughts of you

© 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Coffee Creation

It curls lazily up 
the steam from my morning mug, 
like a cat stretching reluctantly, 
misting the window pane 
A temporary canvas 
on which my finger, 
of its own volition, 
reaches out to create 
fleeting art 
a split second too late 
The mist dissipates 
the glass clears 
My obdurate heart 
wants a momentary masterpiece 
I bring my mug closer
fog up the square again 
A smile drifts on my face 
The mug warms my hands 
A thin spire rises
leaving a white patch 
This time I draw a heart 
watch it vanish
imagine it's still lost to you 
My hands feel no warmth 
The coffee has cooled
Now I will have to make a fresh mug
This time I'll stay away from the window


© 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Heartbreak

For this is how the heart breaks

A falling bough shatters the ice,

To give every piece its own ache

Broken bits float on the frozen lake,

Splintered shards that tell no lies

For this is how the heart breaks

Never any noise does it make

As jagged edges slice old ties

To give every piece its own ache

Through long nights stars stay awake

Watching how the moon cries

For this is how the heart breaks

No matter the many lives at stake

At every turn unkind fate tries

To give every piece its own ache

In terror does the world quake

And shudder as love dies

For this is how the heart breaks

To give every piece its own ache

*I have attempted a villanelle (also known as villanesque), a nineteen-line poetic form consisting of five tercets followed by a quatrain. There are two refrains and two repeating rhymes, with the first and third line of the first tercet repeated alternately until the last stanza, which includes both repeated lines. The villanelle is an example of a fixed verse form. 

© 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Sunday Treat

Only yesterday 
or so it seems 
my little girl wore 
a sunny smile and pigtails 
letting me dress her hair 
in pretty ribbons and butterfly clips

Now almost a young woman 
usually granting me access to neither 
wearing thunderclouds on her face
and unkempt tresses hiding from a hairbrush 

A rare Sunday treat then 
when she puts the hairbrush 
in my hand 
and her tangled tresses 
at my disposal
I smooth out unruly locks
with a gentle touch 
brushing them into a smooth swathe 
pouring down her back 

The clouds on her face 
part to allow that familiar grin 
to shine through
Is that rain on my face?
Just tears escaping 
from loving eyes


© 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Rhythm Of Us

Lively beat of the music
sets my feet tapping
echoing the rain 
pattering on the roof
From across the room
you spot me
From the corner 
of my eye
I see you weave 
your way to me
I pretend not to notice
anticipation spinning 
my pulse
into a quick tempo
You take my hand
haul me to my feet
Away we go
twirling to the tune
in perfect rhythm
as though this was what
we were born to do
Flushed, laughing, breathless
I come alive only with you

The rain gentles its patter
The night grows old
The lights dim
The music slows
My breath catches
my heart skips a beat
I feel the exquisite thrill
of you sliding your arm
around my waist
pulling me close
So close I can feel 
every inch of you
burning every inch of me
I link my arms 
around your neck
turn my cheek into 
your heated skin
close my eyes as we 
melt into the music
just you and me... for eternity


© 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Sonnets

Sonnet #1

A brilliant sun lights up the summer sky
Shining on the crimson carpet below
Pretty birds form an arrow as they fly
Nature has created a splendid show

Grassy meadows sway gently in the breeze
A bubbly brook trips and twirls merrily
New-born calves try to walk on knobbly knees
Snow-white rabbits nibble shoots daintily

Though the air is scented with happy thoughts
A stray cloud casts its shadow on my heart
Anxiety ties my stomach into knots
The dreaded time has come for us to part 

Spring will not linger if you went away
So won't you stay with me for one more day


Sonnet #2

A vexing question often comes to mind

What can be the purpose of this life

I search but no answers can I ever find

It seems I always go from strife to strife

The years come and go like the seasons

They don't tarry long enough for a hint

I struggle to come up with reasons

Why my footprints don’t leave an imprint

Perhaps when I plumb the depths within

To find the true meaning of living

I will learn it’s never to late to begin

And discover that true joy lies in giving

So from this day I resolve to do my best

And give thanks that I have been blessed



© 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Tell All The People

I remember 
how I tried to open 
The Doors 
to your soul and 
Break On Through (To The Other Side) 
while waiting for you to say 
Hello, I Love You 

My skin sang for you to 
Touch Me 
All you had to do 
was look at me to 
Light My Fire 
I was no 
L.A. Woman 
but I would have 
walked down 
Love Street 
with you every time 

Those were 
Strange Days 
I was always 
Waiting For The Sun 
not the one 
in the sky 
the one by my side 
when we went on a 
Moonlight Drive

You said, 
Love Me Two Times, 
I would have loved you forever
They said you were not 
the one for me 
and I told you
People Are Strange 
You were no Jim Morrison
that’s true 
but I never wondered
what I would do
When The Music’s Over 
You left me too soon
And I sang the 
Roadhouse Blues
When we reached
The End


© 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

Everything Changes

A mistake 
you call it 
too small a word 
to encompass 
what I call
a betrayal

Your burden 
laced with guilt 
and shame
weighs on my heart 
Your actions
wiping out 
in an instant 
all the trust
we built together

Forgive and forget, you say
How easily the words 
roll off your tongue 
I might forgive 
for I don't want hate 
to corrode my soul
But I can't forget 
Don't you see
That changes 
everything 


© 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

How The Magic Fades

Furtive afternoons stolen from life  
squandered in a hotel room 
whose faded yellow curtains
And not quite white sheets    
I never did notice
That funny musty odour 
disinfectant mingling
with a strange scent
didn't bother me

All I could see
was the spotless shirt you shed 
The tan lines on your fair skin 
I inhaled your clean fragrance
dusted with the cologne
you always wore 
The feel of your
fumbling fingers
as you undid the buttons
on my dress
the smile that played
on your face
when you finally succeeded
I couldn't breathe
as you reached for me
we melted like the candles I lit

But now
as I wait for you
I see all that I had missed
the fading paint on the walls
the scuff marks on the carpet
the grime on the windows
the chipped wood of the table
The sun streams
into the room
highlighting every flaw
its rays touch   
They fall on me too
the magic fades

So it has come to this, I think
sordid afternoons forsaken by life


© 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

All or Nothing

Not for me
half-measures
in life or love
I wouldn't know
how to live a little
love just a bit
Holding back
is a game
I never learnt to play

All or nothing
that's the way
I do it
Yes, I risk
a river of tears
for a heart
that keeps breaking
I use hope
to glue it together
each time 

You wonder how
it's all so easy for me
But you can't know 
how hard it is
for the only thing
I don't wear
on my sleeve
is my pain

© 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved

30 Days 30 Challenges -- For National Poetry Month

April 30: Write a ghazal (15x2 couplets)

Night of love

Look how brightly the moon shines tonight
The milky orb is giving you a sign tonight

To this garden aglow in silver rays
I hope you will come at nine tonight

Rarely do we get a night so perfect
As though the planets chose to align tonight

Fear has kept you from following your heart
You must be brave and cross the line tonight

There is a hint of prayer in the breeze
The stars also look divine tonight

I have counted every minute to see you again
If you don’t come I will sigh and pine tonight

My ears strain to catch the sound of your feet
Until I hear them I will lie supine tonight

The air is filled with the scent of flowers
Juicy grapes hang low on the vine tonight

If you fight the odds and come to me 
To our love I will build a shrine tonight

I have missed you so, but now you are here
Suddenly I have no words to define tonight

With your flowing hair and your dress of red
You look sweeter than any wine tonight

A look at your face and my heart is full
On love and fresh air I will dine tonight

We will lie together on the soft grass
Your limbs and mine will entwine tonight

Fate deserves no thanks for our union
Everything has happened by design tonight

The world has tried to keep us apart
Now my heart rejoices for you are mine tonight

April 29: Write a poem that starts at the end, moving backwards. 

Picking Up The Pieces

Fragments glitter 
in a stray ray of light 
penetrating the dark
Remains of a relationship 
scattered on the floor 
A dismantled jigsaw 
I was always good at those
I start with the bits 
that have smooth edges
isn’t that the best way to begin

So many pieces
each revives a memory –
you walking away without a word
me wondering what went wrong
kids shattered 
at mum and dad breaking up
friends shocked – 
we were the perfect family

More pieces fit together –
holidays filled with 
fun and laughter
kids’ first day at schools – 
joy and tears
Remembering the time 
they were born
How happy we were

Go further back – 
I love the ones 
of our wedding
A glorious sunny day
you looked so handsome
I never felt more beautiful
Before that, the time you proposed
Roses, candlelight, music – 
you didn’t miss a single cliché
I loved you all the more for it

Almost done - 
just a couple more pieces
of us in college
Finally, the last one
of when we first met
If I slot this in
the jigsaw will be complete
taking me back 
to where it all started

April 28: Dialogue poem

CODE SPEAK

Hi, darling…

Hello, who is this?

Sweetheart, is that a joke?

Yes, this is Cheryl

I miss you so much, darling

I’m sorry, I didn’t get your name

Why are you being a stranger?

Yes, I had ordered a couple of books on poetry

I wrote a poem on you. Do you want to hear it?

Charles, is it? Yes, that would be lovely

Your eyes sparkle with love

Are you sure?

It spills like tears and caresses your cheeks

That’s very nice.

I see my face in a drop. Are you crying for me?

Can you hold for a minute?

Forever, if that’s you want

(It’s the bookstore, honey.. the books I ordered have arrived.)

Aah, he’s home, is he?

So when should I come?

Right now would be great

Oh, I can’t right now.. my husband’s leaving for a trip.

That’s wonderful. I can’t wait to see you.

Yes, tomorrow will be fine.

I’ll count the hours, my love

Good-bye.



April 27: Poem based on a painting

Colours Of Life

Passion leeches out of my soul
in the red spurts of a rose in full bloom 
Grief squirts from my heart purple as the dusk
My skin sheds the angry yellow of the setting sun
My nails give up the orange warmth of fire
Pink blush of innocence recedes from my cheeks
My eyes lose the blue of a melancholic sky
Green of the meadow fades from bruises marking my face
I comb the blessed black of night out of my hair
I gather myriad shades of my existence 
to create the life I dreamt of 
on a canvas as pure 
as the white of an untouched dawn

April 26: Happy Baptismal Day William Shakespeare.  To celebrate write a poem in which both the first and last lines contain a title of a Shakespeare play.

The tempest rages 
on a dark day
Violent swirls 
stirred up by steel 
Leaves whipped 
into a frenzied 
boiling whirlpool 
An unsweetened storm 
tinged with white
You are never happy 
unless you see
steaming hot clouds 
rise from the depths 
Careful to not 
let it spill over 
I hand it to you
Your cup of tea
Just as you like it

April 25: Write a sestina

Falling In Love

Indeed, this really is love
for I could have taken my pick
but my heart chose you. The pieces 
fit together to reveal your face
to me. I spread my wings to fly up
to the sky, soaring to a world fresh and new

 I’m still unsure, my feelings are still new
But I can no longer deny this is love
What else has the power to lift me up?
That acknowledged, I have a bone to pick
with you. Why did you keep your face
hidden from me until I almost went to pieces,

my life squandered like wanton pieces 
of silver scattered to appease fate. But now, a new
chapter can begin. Together we can face
any test life throws at us, our love
a beacon that guides us, helps us pick
our way through the dark, till the sun is up

My emotions have been bouncing up
and down, uncertainty shredding them to pieces. 
Until now, I had not the strength to pick
myself up and trudge on. I now have new
resolve with you by my side, and love
to give me the strength to face

any misfortune, laugh in the face
of disaster, keep my spirits up.
I feel the amazing force of love
smashing all obstacles to pieces.
From the rubble, it creates a new
path lined with flowers we pick

to colour our days, as we cherry pick
experiences we can use to help us face
the unknown. For who knows what new
danger lies ahead? Each challenge raises us up
and makes us the sum of our pieces
secure in the comfort of our love.

We savour it every day, a pick-me-up
to give us courage, and not fall to pieces. 
New and eternal, indeed, this really is love.

April 24: Magnetic Poetry: go to the following website and use it to write a poem. [http://play.magneticpoetry.com/poem/Poet/kit/]

Repulsive Beat

how her bloodshot dress
soars above a purple sky
the wind dreams
a luscious symphony
elaborated by beauty
the mist moans
music please

April 23: Write a poem related (somehow) to the 23 enigma.

I thought I bought two dozen eggs
Turns out there were only twenty three
I wonder if in a park somewhere
There's a chicken that is roaming free

Now I could use up all of them
Or make a twelve-egg omelette
That would leave eleven 
For a feast of eggs benedict 

I don't think it's a coincidence
This challenge is set for the twenty third
But I have learned something new
For I didn't know this enigma existed 

It's true I don't walk under ladders
And I'm wary of the number thirteen
As far as strange beliefs go
23 enigma is stretching it thin

April 22: Spoken word

https://soundcloud.com/uvr2002/rhythm-of-us


April 21: Write a poem of at least 3 stanzas.  Each one must use the word "lap" differently.

No silver spoon for her
Plastic is all she has known 
since she was born 
Never lived 
in the lap of luxury 
even two meals a day 
often beyond her reach 

Now she dances in a club 
wearing little but a broad smile 
looking for all the world 
as though she's lapping up the
seedy attention showered on her 

Each night she swirls 
twirls and shimmies 
Silently suffering 
greedy glances 
and hungry hands 
Then she counts her money 
puts on her tattered dignity 
goes home to bury her face 
in her mama's lap 
and cry her heart out 
all over again

April 20: Write a poem about three objects you touched (people are not objects)

Sunday Treat

Only yesterday 
or so it seems 
my little girl wore 
a sunny smile and pigtails 
letting me dress her hair 
in pretty ribbons and butterfly clips

Now almost a young woman 
usually granting me access to neither 
wearing thunderclouds on her face
and unkempt tresses hiding from a hairbrush 

A rare Sunday treat then 
when she puts the hairbrush 
in my hand 
and her tangled tresses 
at my disposal
I smooth out unruly locks
with a gentle touch 
brushing them into a smooth swathe 
pouring down her back 

The clouds on her face 
part to allow that familiar grin 
to shine through
Is that rain on my face?
I feel tears escaping 
from loving eyes

 April 19: Write a villanelle

Insanity Awaits

Oh this maddening villanelle
Is an exercise in pain
It will soon drive me to hell

I will be reduced to a shell
Trying to get it right in vain
Oh this maddening villanelle

A pesky thought I cannot quell
is that I will buckle under the strain
It will soon drive me to hell

I can hear the death knell
Of failing to master the refrain
Oh this maddening villanelle

The effort makes my brain swell
And spill its guts to leave a stain
It will soon drive me to hell

Get ready to lock me up in a cell
For I will surely become insane
Oh this maddening villanelle
It will soon drive me to hell 

April 18: Write a poem in which nothing is true

Untruthfully Yours

When we meet
I know the words
that will trip off your tongue

You will say, I didn't mean to hurt you
I will say, it's okay

You will say, I did love you
but not any more, not the way 
you should be loved
I will say, yes I know

You will ask, will you be okay
I will reply, of course I will

You will say, you'll find your Mr Right
I will smile and say, yes, I will

You will say, let's still be friends
I will say, sure

You will lie
So will I

April 17: Write a poem about poetry

Healing with words

Sucked dry of energy 
days fall flaccidly
into a tired pile of
seconds minutes hours 
or is it 
days weeks months 
Where is the line 
dividing them up into 
neatly ordered chunks
to show me 
that my universe is 
spinning turning tilting 
even if it seems 
at a standstill

The wheels 
in my mind rotate 
sluggishly listlessly slothfully
I fear they will stop 
driving me to insanity 
Where is the oil to
lubricate grease smooth
the rusty cogs

The setting sun 
paints the sky black 
to blend into the void 
into which
my world is 
hurtling tumbling plunging
I cannot find any 
aim purpose meaning
in going on
Letting go 
seems so inviting 

Just as I begin 
to wonder 
how to do it
a silver lining
emerges from the 
dim recesses 
I discover the
uplifting elevating inspiring
power of words 
spilling from my soul
The darkness lifts
I step back from the edge
ready to live again

April 16: Write at least a six line poem. It has to rhyme, and you can only use the following words for the rhymes:
behalf, laugh, photograph, enough;
seized, glazed, amazed, unappeased;
belief, if, grief;
rage, engage, age;
sphere, disappear;
until, distill.
(Internal or external, these are the only rhymes you can use.)

Getting Over Him

Please do me a favour
And laugh on my behalf
It has been an age 
Since I felt anything but rage
I don't know when, or if
I will move past my grief 
Tell me, will it be enough 
to tear up his photograph 
I want to curl up into a sphere
Until I distill my thoughts
And his memories disappear

April 15: Write a poem by mixing two senses that don't usually go together. 

Smorgasbord

Your laugh is the 
icing on a chocolate cake 
that tastes just as fine

Your tears are the 
crisp croutons in a caeser's salad 
on which I love to dine

Your smile is the 
golden crust of a cheese quiche 
with an aroma that is divine

Your anger is the 
paprika in my stew 
that goes well with wine

Your indifference is the 
bland porridge 
that most certainly is not mine



April 14: Found poem: Write a sonnet

All sonnets MUST be in iambic pentameter, and MUST use one of the following rhyme schemes:
1a. ABAB / CDCD / EFEF / GG
1b. ABBA / CDDC / EFFE / GG
1c. Any Mixture of 1a. and 1b. For example: ABBA / CDCD / EFFE /  GG

2. ABA / BBC / BCC / DCD / EE

3. AAB / AAB / CDDC / CDDC

4a. ABBA / ABBA / CDE / CDE
4b. ABBA / ABBA/ CDC / CDC
4c. ABBA / ABBA / CDC / DCD
Sonnet #1

A brilliant sun lights up the summer sky
Shining on the crimson carpet below
Pretty birds form an arrow as they fly
Nature has created a splendid show

Grassy meadows sway gently in the breeze
A bubbly brook trips and twirls merrily
New-born calves try to walk on knobbly knees
Snow-white rabbits nibble shoots daintily

Though the air is scented with happy thoughts
A stray cloud casts its shadow on my heart
Anxiety ties my stomach into knots
The dreaded time has come for us to part 

Spring will not linger if you went away
So won't you stay with me for one more day

April 13: Descend into the grotesque by watching this video and then write a poem in reaction to it. Be prepared, it's a little creepy.
[http://vimeo.com/84241262]
Into The Abyss

I dreamt of the roses and
champagne kind of love
all sweet dreams and golden days
but all I got was a surreal saga
All my hopes dissolved 
into a grotesque nightmare
where I was the only one who loved 
Even in my dreams 
you always walked away
leaving me unfulfilled
my desire turning into an acid fog
that drifted away on my breath
Now I live out my days
afraid to sleep 
for fear of the monster 
opening its eyes 
and dragging me back 
into the abyss

April 12: In a poem, react to this quote without referring to it:
"It is not enough to be busy. So are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?"
~Henry David Thoreau
So Many Smiles

He is in the coffee shop all day
I see him on my way to work 
slurping a bowl of noodles
He's still there when I go home 
mesmerised by the steam 
curling up from his coffee 
Sometimes he watches 
people rushing by
Mothers dragging children 
to school
Fathers hurrying to get 
to the office on time
Everyone scurrying 
to be somewhere
He has a smile for each one 
It keeps him busy all day

April 11: Turn it up to 11 while listening to this piece of music. Then, write a poem based on it or reacting to it in some way.
http://youtu.be/0HNZzjCj6Ac [" Moanin' " by Charles Mingus]

And The Music Plays On...

Wrapped in the luxurious
cocoon of wealth
women in bright 
swishing silks
and sparkling baubles
men in suave suits
and gleaming shoes
wearing the sparkle
of the rich
A party in full swing

The music plays on 
in the gaps
between the clinking 
of cutlery
Bodies sway to the
rhythm of wine
sloshing into glasses
Tinkling laughter
punctuates
the gentle murmur
of witty conversation
late into the evening

And the music plays on
faint strains carrying
beyond the front door
where they wait
attired in the colours 
of the night
Silently they watch
for the lights to go off
Stealthily they creep closer
hunter stalking its prey
Then they pounce
in the dark 
to snuff out life
Exulting in 
red-drenched success
they leave death behind

And the music plays on…

April 10: Mad for Mad Libs!  Your poem today will be four lines and have these parts of speech in this order.
1. Adjective, Noun, Verb, Adjective, Noun.
2. Adjective, Noun, Verb, Adjective, Noun.
3. Adjective, Noun, Verb, Adjective, Noun.
4. Adjective, Noun, Verb, Adjective, Noun.
Exercise Sucks

Gentle jog tires unfit Uma
Trembling legs take slow steps
Glazed eyes spot sparkling pool
Cool waters soothe weary limbs


April 9: Have a look at all the words via the two links. Use one of the untranslatable words from a different language in your poem today.
[http://9gag.com/gag/ajrVP9p]
[http://sobadsogood.com/2012/10/16/18-fantastic-yet-untranslatable-words-from-around-the-globe/]

Between Us

I wait 
like the stars seeking the night sky
And the sun looking for dawn
I wait for the right time to shine on you

You wait 
equally uncertain 
hesitant to cross uncharted terrain 
without a map to reach me

I sense your glance sear me 
You avert your gaze 
when I look your way 
Between us a
gulf of emotions seethes silently 
A volcano 
waiting for an unspoken sign 
to bury us in an avalanche of desire 

the air sizzles with a million messages 
We know what exists between us
yet I don't make the first move 
you don't take the first step 
We share a Mamihlapinatapei
and then, we wait

*Mamihlapinatapei (Yagan 
indigenous language of Tierra del Fuego) -  The wordless, yet meaningful look shared by two people who both desire to initiate something but are both reluctant to start.


April 8: Found poem

Found from this article. Link: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/dec/06/selfies-status-updates-digital-bragging-web

They Have More Money Than You

On-trend narcissists
Smuggest
in existence
Living opulent lifestyles —
Pools
Yachts
Private jets
Bar tab receipts
Sea of Chanel and Hermès
Reptile shoes

Look away now
They have more money
than you
An exercise in
impoverished masochism
likely to have you 
clamouring for revolution

Wealth whispers — this is
high-pitched shouting
Nauseating canvas
of mock humility
"This is how pimps roll"

April 7: Write a Diamante

                                      Raise a toast

                                             Rum
                                   Cloudy, Mellow
                           Intoxicate, Benumb, Stupefy
               Pick-me-up, Shot-in-the-arm, Elixir, Tonic
                                Slake, Quench, Refresh
                                        Sparkling, Still
                                                Water



April 6: Write 4 linked haiku all featuring Spring/April images.

Cornflower blue her dress 
the colour of summer sky - 
my world so grey

Clouds of doubt furrow 
my brow - green leaves crinkled
by gentle winds

Tears gather in eyes 
gazing upwards - washed clean
by April rain

Worry lines caressed 
by golden fingers - sunshine 
on a spring morning



April 5: Write a cinquain

Your smile
is the sun that
chases the clouds away 
and paints a rainbow on my days,
my child


April 4: Write an acrostic for A.P.R.I.L

Azure sky spills its ink 
Painting the pansies purple
Red roses bloom on fair cheeks
Inviting Summer's kiss on the
Luscious lips of Spring

April 3: Three is the magic number. Write a poem with three stanzas. Each stanza should have 3 lines.  And, the number three must appear in the poem.

Two Much Of A Good Thing

The first was the best
All wonder and magic
I couldn't get enough

The second still awed me
I knew just enough
To look forward to more

By the third time I just wanted 
it to end. Three movies about 
one ring is one too many

April 2: Write a poem that contains the following words (not necessarily together): national, poetry, month.

Holiday

I'll see you next month, 
you said 
Prosaic words, but 
to my ears - poetry 
In my world, the day 
you arrived would be 
a national holiday

April 1: Write a poem on the topic of “April Fool(s)”

The Only Fool

All that I wanted 
to say to you
Now is the perfect time
You are, after all, 
12 hours behind me
not yet in fool’s territory 
My feelings 
soullessly transmitted 
across the world to you

I imagine your face turning ashen 
when my words rise to your eyes 
seeking a way into your heart
Perhaps you already know 
but it is easier to feign ignorance 
when you can’t accept 
what I have to offer

I imagine your desire 
to cut the tenuous ties 
that hold us loosely in a bond 
without a name —
a little more than friendship
a little less than love

I imagine your relief, then, 
when another note 
wings its way to you 
“Fooled you, didn't I? 
It’s April Fools’ Day” 
though the only fool here is me

© 2014 Uma Venkatraman ~ All Rights Reserved