Peer Readings: Poetry of Sangeeta Sharma Decoded

---Marjorie Pezzoli

Sangeeta Sharma treats each page in her latest poetry collection Under the Sapphire Sky like a canvas.

She creates her own pallet of words to convey the beauty of nature, myths, and love in its many forms. Each line contains vibrant brush strokes of observation.

The title poem, “Under the Sapphire Sky” brings us to a beautiful setting. I could actually feel my toes dipping into the lush blue ocean.

She intertwines nature and the emotion of the moments.

The Nature segment is a container for 28 poems that celebrates celestial bodies and changing seasons.

Her words remind me why we need to be better stewards for the planet. The questions she asks points out why we should ponder and reflect upon taking care of ourselves and this wonderful planet. The other four segments are Nostalgia, Culture, L’amore, and Reflections.

Sangeeta reaches back into time and brings us along to enjoy beloved and heirloom moments. She honors her parents in a most delightful way.

Family and culture are strong threads in these poetic canvases. Ancient knowledge is celebrated, she draws us into festivals and their meanings.

“Ma’s Sewing Box” is one of my favorite poems in Sangeeta’s collection.

She gives us a peek at the treasures inside, beautiful buttons, colorful threads, fashion accessories, and more for needed mending. Family and friends could count on Ma to save the day every time she lifted the lid. When things had gone-a-fray, items were patched up with care and ingenuity. Sangeeta reminds us that this sewing box is a container to mend more than fabric, love is sewn with every stitch. This family heirloom lets us revisit moments in time.

I am glad to have kept my mother’s sewing basket and jars of buttons for similar reasons.

Here’s a little peek into Sangeeta’s poem. Hope, possibilities, and love are shared with each stitch from long ago, the beginning stanza drew me in.

Ma’s Sewing Box

Assortment of threads, spools, double and tambour needles,

Decorative buttons, bobbins, hooks and eyes, safety pins

Tailor’s chalk, beads - white, red, green and turquoise

For me this brings up the “Fabric of the Universe” concept, may we all do our part to keep it mended.

Sangeeta’s nature poems remind us why we should.

The word petals of “Cherry Blossoms” create a bouquet of understanding. Sangeeta brings in traditional symbolism and history with the cherry tree’s branches. Two weeks of celebration and remembrances lighten our hearts with each pink petal before they drop. Japan’s gesture at the end of World War II is more than touching and should not be forgotten. Canada, where Sangeeta now resides is a special place. Her wrap up thoughts ties together the reasons why our moods need this pink petal joy. Past wars, continuing ones, the lockdown years of 2020 through 2022, and climate change, are things that weigh heavy for many.

Cherry Blossoms

People for cherry blossoms wait

And as they bloom they go in hordes

to watch and gaze

A symbolic flower of the spring,

That heralds a time of renewal and

new beginnings

After their beauty peaks

for two weeks

Their fall is suggestive of transience, a

divine decree

The pops of pink and white signify the end of winter and

the start of spring.

Do you know about Toronto’s cherry tree plantings?

Hundreds of flowering cherry (Sakura) trees,

gifted from Japan,

To honour citizens of Toronto for warmly accepting their

relocated brothers-in-arms

Following the Second World War,

with wide-open arms

Cherry blossoms bring to all cheer,

year after year

And help in having some merriment

amid growing fears

Of Covid-19, then variant viruses and perennially zooming global-warming repercussions.

Sangeeta frames each of her masterpieces with intention, insights, and wonderment. She enriches us with poignant pigments; from the fiery reds of love and passion, the calming greens and blues of nature, to indigo and violet remembrances. Reading her curated collection puts a Mona Lisa smile on my face. Thank you Sangeeta for your word paintings.

One last thought from her pallet of words to lift us up: 

Diwali

- Hey, it’s a celebratory time of Diwali

When lamps expel darkness of ignorance

And spread the light of love and knowledge,

auspicious!

(The link to Sangeeta Sharma’s book of poetry: https://www.amazon.in/Under-Sapphire-Sky-Sangeeta-Outlar-PB-Poetry/dp/8196300697)

(Marjorie Pezzoli is an eminent Poet, Silk Painter and Visual Artist. Ed)

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Setu, February 2025