Srivalli Rekha (Semi Hiatus)'s Blog, page 85

Barrel of Grapes

Credit: Ratna Pochiraju
Juicy grapeBunch leaning overGreen against the brown barrelInviting me to pluck and pop oneBite into the juicy fleshEcstasy flowing
In my veins.
#######
Note: A Hexacore style poem. Looks like a barrel (without grapes). ;) 

********For more poems, check out Violets in Hand
For a dose of horror, check out the latest book onboard Route 13: Highway to Hell. The book is free on KU.

Across the Bridge

Credit: Ratna Pochiraju
There it was, a stone bridgeFrozen in time, destined to stand Until the world no longer existedWas it a curse?Was it a boon?The trees wondered,Growing taller and strongerWith lush emerald leavesAs the years merged into one another; Together they forged a bondThat none seemed to understand Nor care.
The lake never rippledThe trees never swayedThe seasons paused eons agoWhile the wind died And the rains Weren’t even a distant dream;Was it magic?Was it witchcraft?Who knew the answer?Who spoke the truth?Lost in the land on unknown  Unmoving yet aliveInvisible yet unseenThe bridge waited Collecting stones of weary patienceUntil the prophecy would come trueAnd a pale shimmering lightWould break the spell By gliding across the bridge.######
Note: Looks like this uneven numbered stanzas are going to represent the rest of the month. Let's see.

********For more poems, check out Violets in Hand
For a dose of horror, check out the latest book onboard Route 13: Highway to Hell. The book is free on KU. 

The Sea Shell

Image credit: fredrikwandem

The pebbles tickled her tiny feet As she raced across the sand to pick a shellSoft waves rolled over one another Foaming with bubbles of delight at the musical laughter
As she raced across the sand to pick a shellThe pearl’s broken home was no longer emptyFoaming with bubbles of delight at the musical laughterThe waves danced at her feet with growing reverence
The pearl’s broken home was no longer emptyWhen touched by fingers of magic that eased the pain The waves danced at her feet with growing reverenceAs the little girl rushed to save a baby crab
When touched by fingers of magic that eased the pain Soft waves rolled over one another As the little girl rushed to save a baby crabThe pebbles tickled her tiny feet

*****
A Pantoum style poem. 

A-Z 2020 Theme Reveal

Hello readers,

Nothing like a marathon to get back on track, is it? After successfully completing the A to Z Challenge last year, I've decided to give it a try again. Considering poetry my lucky charm, this year too, I will be writing poems for the month of April (which also happens to be the time for NaPoWriMo).

This year, my theme is Ekphrastic Poetry. I've been blessed to have the permission to use the fabulous paintings by talented painter and friend, Mrs. Ratna Pochiraju. Her works are going to be my guiding light in April.

I will be updating this post to add links to individual posts for easy access. Good luck, fellow bloggers.

See you soon.

New Lease of Life

Credit: StockSnap/ Pixabay 

Waves splashed; winding her legs,Adorning the slender ankles, Toppling over one another, Eager to envelop her turbulent emotions,  Rising like the full moon tide
Into the salty waters, she vanishedSliding, slipping and spiraling in a trance  
Life sparkled, surrounding her in a welcome embrace Inching deeper into her heavy heart Filling her senses; flowing through her veinsEchoing in the ripples that she was theirs to care for.
#Acrostic 

The Women You Knew

Hello readers,

Some of us met during the first blog hop of this decade and shared stories about the past decade. This time, I decided to take the safe route by writing a poem for the theme 'The Woman That I Am'.

IWas life always colorless?Where did the soft glow of the yellow go?The rusty lamp in her wrinkled handsFailed to bring back the shades of her youthThe ruby on her old fingerResembled a lifeless onyx in the moonless night.
Where did the years go?How did she let the worldTake away her love for life? Questions swirled around,Colder than the winter chillDemanding an answerShe was now determined to find.
One day soon, she told the darknessThe lamp would sparkleAnd so would her smile. Let the world watch-Eyes wide in wonder,Heads hung in shame,At the bygone life of a womanAt the unseen layers of womenWho gave and gave and gave.


IIThe waves crashed at her feetA flurry of white and azureRolling over the golden sand Mesmerized by the life she led,The adventures she hadThe smiles she shared.
The years of her childhoodA distant yet vivid memory;A shepherd girl with dreams in her eyesFlashed through her veinsTo flow into the sea.
She wanted to know-To learn, to live, and to loveSo she fought, ran, and wonTo prove that she could.
The waves crashed faster,Eager to unravelThe secret of her strengthThat settled foreverIn the stubborn set of her shoulders.


IIICheers & claps, bouquets & best wishes-Gifted, blessed, and lucky, they gushedThe dance was her talent, they saidThe dance, they did not know was her soulPassion, madness, and devotion, she sighedThe words stuck in her throat.
Assured by the breeze surrounding herShe let the ready applause of the worldSink into the rising tideAs the graceful movements on the stageGave way to a gay abandon on the cliffs.
She would dance to no one's tune,Said the fire that burned in her heart.

IV How long, she wonderedEyes intent on the trodden pathDid she carry the weight of her family;Sometimes pots, sometimes baskets,And debts every time of the day.
Walking through the fields, banks, and sandsBraving the sun, rain, and windUntil the day she heard from a sister-'The day you stop is the day they learn.' 

Now she sat there on the wallReady at last to teach her childBefore the burden shrunk her into oblivion,The same lesson she chose to ignore.

V The magic of the wise woman workedThe lamp began to glow again;Flickering a faint amber glowTo drive away the black & whiteBringing the divine rays of hope.


Reflecting in the depth of her eyesThe realization sparkled anewWhat would the world have beenIf she wasn't the woman she was?

**********
Paintings Credit: Ratna Pochiraju 
(Ratna aunty, your paintings have always been inspiring me. This post belongs to you as much as it belongs to me.)


 “This post is a part of ‘The Woman That I Am’ Blog Hop #TheWomanThatIAm organized by Rashi Roy and Manas Mukul #RRxMM” 

Verity by Colleen Hoover- Book Review

Verity by Colleen Hoover
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

So I read Verity. It's a good thing to not have a fixed TBR. Anyway, coming to the story, not sure if I should say it was good or okay. The opening was gruesome yet detached, and that set the tone for the rest of the book. I was involved in the story, even thought about it during the sleep. But somewhere towards the end, I began to lose the involvement. Maybe I was looking for a twist, so the ending wasn't a surprise. Or rather I'd say the last chapter. The ending isn't an end. It stops at a place where the author can start a sequel if she wishes to.
It is dark and comes with a lot of trigger warnings. I admire the writing style of Verity's personal story. Lowen, not a much. She sounded like a teenager or someone in the early 20s. I could see traces of the heroine from It Ends With Us in her.
As a writer, I tried to relate to Lowen, but that didn't happen either. She talks about it only in the beginning. Her world seemed to revolve around Jeremy. The characters are all gray, and despite that none of them feel real.
This is a brave attempt. The last chapter is a favorite for the reason that it does talks about the writer's mind and how others don't seem to be able to understand that a writer is different from their writings.
I've read quite graphic stuff before, but it did get boring after a while in this book. It felt as if Hoover was trying to cover the lack of depth in characters by using sex as a diversion tactic.
Another thing that irked me was the abundance of adverbs. (I'm kinda obsessed). But when you read 4 adverbs in a 5-line paragraph at the beginning of the book, it leaves a bad taste. At least as the story progressed, I could focus less on them. Overall, Verity is the only interesting character in the book (and Crew, of course). 3.5- 3.7 stars.


View all my reviews

Drifting Into the Unknown

What I'm supposed to write about the past decade? The question haunted me long enough after I signed up for the event. Not being the kind to bare my soul, writing about me wasn't appealing. A story sounded great if only my brain could churn something before the deadline. Struggling with a half-written story is bad enough (got less than two days to hope for a miracle). Yikes! 
But I already joined the team, and no way I was going to step back after the event started. At least I had the sense to pick a day halfway through the event.




And... Here we go into the past...
2010 started with yet another canceled exam session (for the third time). It was the year we ended up giving exams for three semesters, organized a college fest, a farewell event for the seniors and a freshers event for the juniors, had an eye-opening experience in the corporate that lasted less than a week and worked on the HR project. Phew! 

The next year gave me an MBA degree and a broken leg. Spending a quarter of a year confined to bed with a cast on the leg was no fun. Ugh! The less we talk about 2012, the better. I read loads of books and idled, dabbling in writing, drawing, and did nothing productive. 
From 2013 to 2015, I found a sense of purpose by getting an MA in English Literature via distance mode. Loved studying on my own without attending any classes. The freedom! Yet again, the question of what next haunted me. Should I write? What should I write? Can I continue my long-forgotten blog (the same one you're reading now. I revamped it)? Should I do something else? Of course, I continued to read like a maniac and played Criminal Case on Facebook. That's an addictive game, I tell you. 
Let's fast forward again to mid-2016. A chance comment by a neighbor gave me an idea for a blog series. One day, I hope it'll become a book. 
2017 was when things began to come together (or so it seemed back then :/ ). Finding a Writer's group gave me the chance to step into the writing field with determination. The feedback I received on my writing ensured my feet were firmly on the ground. I had a looong way to go. NaNoWriMo was another experience that told me I could indeed complete a novel no matter how horrible the draft reads now. It was my first ever full-length novel! (I'm a short story person). 

Grammarly came into my life that year-end and stated with me ever since. The best thing about free versions is that we've got to use our brains to figure out where the errors are and how to clear them. That's when I realized I don't like too many adverbs in the stories. Now, I'm hovering on the edge of becoming an editing freak. Agh! 
2018 and 2019 made me a part of quite a few anthologies. I even published two ebooks- Violets in Hand and The House of Justice on Amazon. Selling them is no small task. Sigh! My minor marketing degree isn't helping (or maybe I'm not putting enough effort). 

I've made new friends, stayed in touch with some of the old ones, drifted away from others, and tried my best to keep away from negative people (not easy, as I find them in plenty). 
In between those 'What Should I Do With Life' moments...
Did I mention my cookery YouTube channel in between? Yeah, mom and I cooked, and I made videos and wrote recipes (here). It's pretty dormant now, but I love to cook and bake. Chocolate cake is always welcome (if I don't have to clean up afterward). 
Do you know learning Russian isn't easy? Spanish is interesting and has some words similar to Sanskrit and Telugu. 

Making bookmarks is so much fun! I've loved creating and gifting them to friends. DIYs are a great way to relax.



This year of 2020...
Having a paperback exclusively to my name is the biggest aim. Can I do it before the year ends? That is a question I'd rather answer with some action instead of words. After boring you enough with my story, I'd like to thank you for reading this (not so planned) long post. Before you leave, tell me about that one thing you've always wanted to do in 2020.
*****
“This post is a part of ‘DECADE Blog Hop’ #DecadeHop organised by #RRxMM Rashi Roy and Manas Mukul. The Event is sponsored by Glo and co-sponsored by Beyond The Box, Wedding Clap, The Colaba Store and Sanity Daily in association with authors Piyusha Vir and Richa S Mukherjee”

Snowflake Memories

Picture credit- Pixabay 

She ran
Across the snow
To catch
A snowflake.

Gifts
Of Nature
They were,
Her mother said.

Holding one
In
Her tiny fist
She jumped in joy.

Alas, tears
Spilled into
Empty palms
Staring at her.

How and why
She wondered;
The gift vanished.
Along with her mother.

The Rose

Picture Credit: Pixabay

I found
This rose
Sitting idle there
Among the marigolds
It inclined its head
At me
Regally, expecting
Me to bow down
With a smile
I cut
The stem
And pocket the rose

Walking away
Whistling
A tune
As the rose pouts.