Hema Ravi, India

FINDING HERSELF           

On a mission
She wades through unexplored shores
beyond the dense pine forests
past the sounds and sights of civilization
that indefinitely extend into serenity,
traverses beyond celestial horizons
devoid of kinship and cognation,
Her sanguinity deep within
freed from the clutches of the green
interpret life differently; diligently
penetrating the labyrinths
plumbed deep within the recess
that lie camouflaged
beneath avarice and vice
Soon, the ascent begins
She soars effortlessly!


*DRAUPADI, ME TOO! (MINUTE POEM)

All odds she is ready to face
without a mace
through thick and thin
with grit and grin.

Tightly she holds the magic key
God hears her plea
as she glides past
when the die’s cast.

With malice he comes to accost
decorum lost
Hands wrong too much
Her soul can’t touch!

(*Draupadi – the wife of the Pandavas in the Indian epic Mahabharat)



ODE TO A PEASANT WOMAN

Biological clock stirs her at the crack of dawn
A distant cuckoo’s call as she stifles a yawn
Horizon dark over the distant hills
Into the undergrowth beyond the mills
past endless stretches of eerie silence
As the unseen hand offers guidance 
She gingerly walks to attend Nature’s Call.
Before long, the morn will fall.
The morning chores complete
Off to the field, as the goats bleat
to lend a helping hand
and earn a few pennies off the land.
The toil from daylight to dusk
stripping the blades of husk
Together moments at lunch
Dry rotis with pickle, partner and she munch.

At the mini-temple hidden by hedges
With utmost faith and sobriety
prostrates before the woman deity
Her weather-beaten face
still has beauty in trace(s)
As she trudges home barefoot
her emotions stay put
no melancholy or frustration
In her routines, no cessation
Her forbearance - Unparalleled!


Hema Ravi has verses published in Metverse Muse, Efflorescence, Amaravati Poetic Prism, Symphony of Peace, Women, Wit and Wisdom…... Her Haiku, Tanka, Form poetry and Free Verses have been featured in various online and print journals.  Her write ups have won prizes in the Femina, Khaleej Times (Dubai) and International Indian (Dubai).  She has published in the Hindu’s Voice your Views and Open Page.  She is the author of Everyday English, Write Right Handwriting Series 1, 2, 3, co-author of Sing Along Indian Rhymes and Everyday Hindi. As an IELTS and Communicative English trainer, she empowers youngsters to their fullest potential. As resource person for workshops, she draws reticent speakers to the forefront, encourages them to communicate with confidence and clarity. She is the Secretary of the Chennai Poets’ Circle and the India Poetry Circle, a what’s app group of poets from diverse backgrounds that publishes Confluence - collaborative poems.


2 comments :

  1. Poems with a very sensitive, salubrious & aesthetic touch. Can anyone say rhyme interferes with a natural poetic flow, once they read Hema's poems "Draupadi, Me Too" and "Ode to a Peasant Woman." Eureka, Hema!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you, Atreya Sarma Sir......Comments from a poet of your stature mean a lot!

    ReplyDelete

We welcome your comments related to the article and the topic being discussed. We expect the comments to be courteous, and respectful of the author and other commenters. Setu reserves the right to moderate, remove or reject comments that contain foul language, insult, hatred, personal information or indicate bad intention. The views expressed in comments reflect those of the commenter, not the official views of the Setu editorial board. рдк्рд░рдХाрд╢िрдд рд░рдЪрдиा рд╕े рд╕рдо्рдмंрдзिрдд рд╢ाрд▓ीрди рд╕рдо्рд╡ाрдж рдХा рд╕्рд╡ाрдЧрдд рд╣ै।