ninotaziz's Blog, page 9

Sand

In a quiet space at the far corner of the world, there are no humans. The universe is still wondrous magic. The red sun gives way to the red moon, for the earth, though beautiful, is still suffering the dust that mankind leaves behind after a day's hard work. At polluting the air. The winds. The desert.
sand drops silentlyinto the desert of moonswitness to starburst
In the green verdant lush forest deep in the jungle, there are no humans. The tree canopies open up to the skies of flurrying clouds. The brooks give way to streams to rivers, laboring under the burden of progress that mankind deems so necessary. Polluting the river. The seas. The oceans.
tear drops with a splashinto the yawning oceangasping for air -
In the mindless stream of the digital consciousness, there are no humans. The internet is the wondrous highway that connects us all in a mysterious manner. Revolution gives way to revelation to renaissance of thought. Youtube, new media and twitter find their way to be relevant. Polluting the mind. The soul.
sable tombe -dans le désert de lunesvoit la nuit étoilée


by ninotaziz. all rights reserved.
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My Haibun this week for Haiku Heights

Do you see?

Art by Musin Yohan

do you see a life of existence a path trudged dailyendless roadahead
do you see a life of acceptancea view enjoyed dailysuch possibilitiesa future
do you see a life of serenitya choice taken dailythe blessingstoday
What do you see?

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For magpietales

ariel

after hundreds of yearsof retellings, of tragedyof sacrifice, of true lovethe little mermaid finally
finds an end to sufferinga twist in the taleshe marries her princeshe rises above the waves
but what awaits ariellife of a mortal, of mankind'sabsolute control over  the worldabhorrent to her own kind
does she yearn for the deep oceandoes she long to return to its wisdom?
elle fait aspirer à l'océanveut-elle à son retour d'un bleu profond?
by ninotaziz. all rights reserved.

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for dversepoets
While I understand that movie adaptation is required, I often miss the parts of folklore that was deleted from movies. For instance, the little mermaid's grandmother was such a force to be reckoned with in the fairytale. She dictated the rules for the princesses and wore 12 oysters on her tail rather than the customary six. And yet, she no longer existed in the movie.
I love legends and folklores from all over the world, and through this appreciation, learn to love the Malay Hikayat even more.

Summer Crescendo

bird songs, singing brooksnature forms an orchestra Summer crescendo
by ninotaziz. all rights reserved
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for Haiku Heights

Light

she lit up the roomignited the space between themher knowing smile. his passion. 
long before the flick of the lighterthe bursting blue white flamereached the cigarette
between his lips
by ninotaziz
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for magpietales

Burning the candle for legends

Huminodun by Malek Rahim
I burn the candle at both endsWriting legendsI am told I should take a breatherYet I am driven
Biting off more than I can chewThe folklores are petering outSo I rack my brainsAnd try not to be bogged down
It is a bitter pill to swallowthat maybe we don't care about folkloreI get the driftBut I carry this flaming torch
I guess I break even in my questTo stop the loss of legends

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Kelvin is host today over at dVerse. And he inspires us with idioms!

This is certainly not one of my best poems. But the subject is real. I am exhausted. For our national day celebrations this August, I have been writing A Hikayat A Day, for 17 days of the celebration, targeted for schoolchildren. The illustrations are lovely, but the writing is relentless. 

Which stories to include? What lessons from the stories do I keep?

Would the kids enjoy these old ancient legends?

The Owl who dreams

The moon says farewellas the owl looks at the cloudscovering the open skies
The moon in my palmdisappears as water slipsthrough my fingers - farewell love

***


La lune fait ses adieux
quand la chouette regarde les nuages
couvrant le ciel ouvert

by ninotaziz
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There is an idiom in Malay, "Bagai punggok rindukan bulan"

It means, Like the Owl who dreams of the moon, and signifies one pining for a love they can never have.

I am beginning to believe that we Asians, because love was once-upon-a-time a secret, often undeclared affair, play havoc with imagination and thus write poetry to express this deep longing and overwhelming feelings that otherwise would simply drown us (long sentences are bad form but here, it was  unavoidable).
We have pantun, ghazal and now sedoka.
This week, Samuel Peralta confirms this once again through his post, The Princess' Poem.
As a poetic form, the sedoka is one of the rarest forms today, not often seen even within its native Japan. And yet, some scholars have contended that one of the greatest poems of the Japanese language is a sedoka – a poem composed as a declaration of love by the Princess Nukata. Read more here

And Kelvin talks about idioms this week. So, here is a Japanese sedoka based on an ancient Malay idiom.

Crossroads

Here, at a crossroad
I stand to be so delivered 
Here, at a crossroad
There are no cars, no bikes, no boats
I must pick myself up and work
On choices I inherited
Here at this crossroad.

by ninotaziz. all rights reserved.

For dVerse - thank you Tony for the rondelet.

This was too difficult to do in french!

Liberation

I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.

                                                                                 Frank Herbert

Darkness.
night comes as a heavy cloak
thoughts cloud reality, and senses
run amok, beating at my ribcage
this is the moment of truth
can I face down this growing terror
which stays away in light of day
weakened by sheer sunny disposition
yet, at night it rears its ugly fervor
I will face my fear.

Inspiration.
she shies away if inhibited
when all she seeks is permission
granted, to open the path to healing
her light, can't be diminished
once she arrives, all is free
thought. action. passion.
will. solution. gumption. tension.
I no longer ask the question, to be or not to be
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.

Revelation.
I control my destiny, with His grace
so in the darkness that falls, I am comforted
by my prayers and faith, my tears and gratitude
I have a place to call my own, and my children
have known neither real pain nor cruel wrath
slowly, I feel the gentle calm return, I sigh
I breathe, I exhale, I settle to dream
Fear subsided into a gentle reminder to last
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye
                                                               - to see its path.

Self discovery.
Freedom from self persecution
I am here, giving my all to this life
Freedom from self denial, I choose
to walk through, eyes wide open
I stand to learn. to taste. to gain.
this is my quest. my all. my legacy.
the darkness will be lifted, my heart
will sing, like a nightingale again
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
                                                      - Only I will remain.

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Samuel Peralta #Semaphore is a genius at excelling in both the world of science and art. Poetry to be specific. And he inspires us over at dVerse with carefully worded introductions to the greater playground of poetry.

It's okay, I missed the deadline. But not the lesson.

Frank Herbert is my all-time favorite writer. It is not by chance I write in both prose and poetry today.

This form is called the glosa. It was the form of choice by the likes of Neruda and Page. I am glad I discovered it today. Thank you,  Sam.

Les légendes et folklores

Legends and folklores are thé memories of ancient civilizations.
Les légendes et folklores. Les souvenirs des le monde anciennesHikayat. Garuda. Puteri. Voyages fantastiques.Nous perdons, et nous perdons une partie intrinsèque de nous
                                                                                                  ninotaziz