It is madness
says reason
It is what it is
says love …
It is unhappiness
says calculation
It is nothing but pain
says fear
It has no future
says insight
It is what it is
says love …
It is ridiculous
says pride
It is foolish
says caution
It is impossible
says experience
It is what it is
says love …
What it is by Erich Fried
Love this poem and read it many times. Do you love such poems?
I love many of them …
First and foremost, allow me to share Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Sonnet 43, ‘How Do I Love Thee?’
It begins with the iconic lines:
‘How do I love thee?
Let me count the ways…’
These two lines alone contain volumes of meaning, and I find myself revisiting them often …
There’s another poem, I love, and that is ‘Hope’ by Emily Dickinson
‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers –
That perches in the soul –
And sings the tune without the words –
And never stops – at all’ …
I may not be good at recitation, but I have a deep passion for reading and appreciating the intricate artistry of language. The way words are arranged to evoke emotions, convey wisdom, and capture the essence of life, love, and nature resonates deeply with me. It’s in these moments, amidst the twists and turns of expression, that I find myself enamored with the beauty of language and the emotions it encapsulates …
See, when you read ‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening’ by Robert Frost, won’t you just love this famous poem?
‘The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep’ …
Here’s another eloquent excerpt from the renowned poem ‘The Road Not Taken’ by Robert Frost:
‘Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.’
This poem resonates deeply with me and holds a special place in my heart, as I often find myself reflecting on its message of making pivotal choices that shape one’s journey.
I have a profound admiration for another poem, namely ‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.’ Its expression conjures the sense of companionship, as if the lover is spiritually present, ensuring one is not alone:
‘Let us go then, you and I,
When the evening is spread out against the sky’ …
Isn’t it beautiful?
I’m certain many of you appreciate these poems. There are numerous others, but I’d like to share just a few of my absolute favorites with you all, such as ‘Leisure’ by William Henry Davies:
‘What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare …
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.
No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.’
To selectively share excerpts from the poem is my means of conveying:
Please delve into the poems I’m presenting here—
read them when solitude surrounds you,
read them in the company of your beloved,
read them among friends,
read them with strangers,
read them in tranquility,
read them amidst chaos …
but above all, I hope you
read them in their entirety …
Read
Sharing one of my recent painting video from ‘Chaos’ series. Hope you may like it. Also I tried to read the poem ‘What It Is’. Hope you would like listening to it as well ….
And also please do share here about your favourite poems …..
Blooms glow …
Hope is in petals bright
Nature promises in breeze …
Part of my morning rituals are spent in my little varandah garden! It refreshes me …. Love the sound of the chirping birds, the warm light, smell of the wind and greens and flowers … Some days I read here with a glass of warm honey water and some days a cup of tea … with a little conversation … These days are Ramadan days, the most blessed days and I’m healing from my broken finger …. I hope it’ll be alright soon … and everything too
Hope …
Let the blooms bring hope …
My canvas of delight is
Dancing bright …
My passion is igniting
A colorful sight …
My soul is painting
A tranquil choir …
My emotion is healing
With peace and fire …
Meraki
(v.) to do something with soul, creativity or love; to leave a piece and essence of yourself in something you do …
In English we say,
I love to write …
In poetry we say,
Ink spills from the pen,
Words dance upon the page’s breath and
Each letters have taken my heartbeat
And thus poetry becomes my infinite playground …
How do you say in poetic verses about your love for writing?
I love to connect through words and I feel so happy when you write to me …. I love to read as well …. Now in poetry, how would you say that?
What if it all works out?
What if you get that call?
What if today goes unexpectedly well?
What if you have what it takes?
What if you meet someone unexpectedly?
What if today you make the day best with what you have?
What if someone is praying for you?
What if you receive that one mail?
What if someone has special feelings for you?
What if someone tells you that?
What if you go on that trip with someone for a day or two?
What if the trip takes you to another state of mind?
What if you return with a complete different state of heart?
What if you do not know what’s next?
What if the best is yet to come?
What if great things are on the way?
What if you don’t search for any answer?
What if the answer is within you?
I love all the ‘What ifs’ …
What ifs’ give me hope …
Echoes of your absence linger
In the winds of change; …
These days! ….
My heart aches
Unknowingly and why do
‘I miss you’? – I strangely sigh
These days! ….
Heimweh/ german
(n.) a longing for home
So she was absent for one day
And came to school the next day and she came to my desk room to see me. She was standing at the doorstep and she called me softly,
‘Miss’ …..
I looked at her, and got up from my desk and went closer to the doorstep and touching her soft cheek, I said,
‘Hello Mumma! How’re you sweety? You were absent yesterday. I heard that you had toothache. How’s your toothache now?
I was saying all these to her at a go …
And she said to me ‘Did you miss me?’ with such deep affectionate look at me and with a softer voice that it almost melted my heart with pure bliss …
It was so heartwarming, I immediately gave her a hug and said, ‘Of course, I missed you dear. I missed you so much.’
It seemed she felt good to hear those words for her and then she hugged me for a few seconds and smiled ….
And then she noticed my buddy taping fingers
‘What happened?’ – serious concerns with full of innocent sympathy
‘It just was an accident my dear.’ I answered.
‘Is this hurting you?’ She couldn’t get it what’s that!
‘Well, yes! A little’ ….
‘How did it happen?’ – asked like an adult as if she would understand the whole situation …
She kissed my buddy taping and asked me, ‘Should I draw something on your bandage? So it’ll be cured faster.’
‘Oh dear! Really? You can draw of course.’
Then she brought out her special colour box and said to me, ‘I want to use the colors that you prefer today. Cause it’s your bandage on your hand.”
Then I chose some colors, pink, purple, green yellow …
She drew this one. She drew a heart, a flower …. For me ….
She asked me, ‘Did you like it?
I know you all know what my answer was to her …
Now you tell me, ‘Do you like this Little Joy’?’
Do you value such little joy in your life?
How sometimes we get someone’s affection and we don’t even notice ….
How sometimes you know that you’re someone special in someone’s heart, and yet you do not care much or ignore or you take that for granted …
How often we do not acknowledge these little joys of life …
Often I do find these ‘Little Joy’ moments in my life and I value them deeply. I believe life is made up of these little moments, precious memories, vulnerability and love that all add up to create a big canvas of your life. We should know that the bigger picture cannot be made without all the small moments that bring it all together. So
‘I hope you find, as I did, that happiness comes from noticing and enjoying the little things in life’
I sit alone by the brook,
A thought, interrupting, time and again-
Better I put my words aside …
Natsukashii/ japanese
(n.) A nostalgic longing for the past; Fondly remembering something with a wistful sense of nostalgia ….
Lost, found, blooms anew …
Mountains stand in silent strength …
Far, but near, a song unfolds …
Oubaitori/ japanese
(n.) the idea that people, like flowers, bloom in their own time and in their individual ways ….
A remarkable day today, A Monday! Je t’aime comme tu es ….
I♥️
You are lingering
Over my head like rain clouds …
When will you fall like rain in my heart?
But wait …
Not now …
Not yet ……
Ever since I’ve acknowledged this f e e l ing
Interestingly, I have felt less alone …
There are still some lingering doubts in my mind; though
My journey into this has been very unplanned
So practicing the pause and silence would probably work, telling myself …
And the rain clouds are
hovering over me ….
Hence taking pause has
become easy silently, and solitarily …
As if
I’m in love with the bliss of solitude …
These rain-clouds are lingering
over my head
And I’m looking at it from the bright side
That they are with me means to me
As if
You’re with me!
So, wait .…
Not now …
Not yet …..
Fall like rain in my heart
After sometime, after some pauses …
Rain in my heart for no reason
Let the clouds part, doubts be gone,
Fall in love with me …
Like a soft, whispering breeze while it rains
Only after sometime, after some pauses …
Not now …
Not yet …
♥️
.
.
You are like a music
Which creates melancholic
moods inside my heart …
A melody that lingers, night and day …
I take time to listen to it,
I find myself enchanted;
When nothing seems to ease my restlessness
I listen to you, my music
To walk the long journey of life
Even though it only creates melancholic moods
But you are like that music to me
Loving, healing, heart-touching
Connecting my soul to you
Forever and always ….
I put my heart and soul into my work, and I have lost my mind in the process.
-Vincent Willem Van Gogh
It is true for each of my creative works. My paintings have its stories and often they echo my deep-rooted emotions and deep talk with myself. I live in each of its stories and moments of creativity.
So here I so very wish to share my stories of two paintings with you all.
A Tale of Twin Paintings
Finally Falguni has the other twin painting tittle ‘Hope Shines’. I am super happy that she has chosen this one. And then there the first twin painting titled ‘Follow the Soothing Breeze, Here’ already owned by my daughter …
Why am I saying this two paintings as ‘TWIN PAINTINGS’?
Because I painted this two paintings simultaneously, keeping them side by side using only one art paper, dividing them with masking tapes. And they both have the same wavelengths I felt at the time I was painting them. While I was working on this Twins, during their creative process, colouring, taking pauses, brushing, re-brushing, stroking the brushes here and there, I remember I was contemplating on various things, specially doing meaningful purposeful work for the rest of my life. A purpose greater than life itself. Many a times I felt discouraged and demotivated, but never ever I felt lost as to what next. I’ve been always having different ideas to move forward in life. Never look back what I couldn’t, but moving forward what I can. Just like the titles of the Twin Paintings, I have been following a Soothing Breeze instilled in my heart all my life keeping my ‘Hope’ Shines throughout this life’s journey so far ….
Amazing, na?
Now I’m so glad that one twin painting is with my little sister-friend Falguni, and the other twin has its permanent residence at my dear daughter’s far away homesweethome.
When I first shared the two paintings after seemingly finishing them with my daughter, she immediately asked me to keep the ‘Follow the Soothing Breeze Here’ painting for her. I just loved the urgency to book the painting for herself. So I did keep it aside for her, happily. Last time I visited NY, I took that painting for her home there. She has already few of my paintings at her home. Now all the people come to visit her place, they ask her about the paintings and she feels so proud to let them know, ‘My mom is an artist. These are her paintings.’ She has been my very own cheerleader from the day I started the painting journey in 2020. And from then onwards, I listened to her many suggestions for my Jian Bird Creates and my painting journey. She absolutely adores my creative style of living and specially this journey inspires her to follow the soothing breeze deep inside her loving beautiful heart for herself.
Now ‘Hope Shines’ had lost its Twin and was alone, passing its days with other dazzling paintings around it. One day Falguni came at my Fund raising event ‘Meet & Greet’ for love and light. She walked through my small Jian Bird Gallery, and there she found her ‘Hope Shines’. As definitely always her hope shines through all the ups and downs of life’s tragic and unexpected happenings and yet she continues to shine ✨ For that reason or some other, she decided to own the ‘Hope Shines’ …
For an artist, the canvas is his life, breath and philosophy. So when someone owns their artwork or creative piece, and genuinely wants to keep those with them, I as an artist consider it as honor. I feel they can relate to the piece as I do. And for most of my artworks, I had this conversational experience to tell a story or to evoke an emotion. And there are some who wants me to attach the story with it. I feel it’s a complete connection, from soul to soul.
Now I know my very first TWIN paintings will always remain as their beloved treasures at their soul-home wherever they go. They are themselves two amazing souls in the beautiful Earth, self-made, selfless and strong.
Lastly, I just want to say to ALL of you;
Never forget. Hope shines only for those who believe.
Thanks, kindly, for stopping by and reading this long note from me.
Warmly,
Roksana
#roksanatales
JianBirdGallery❄️ JianBirdCreates
Life is somewhat grey
Everywhere
Just monotony
Lost and lonely …
Don’t you know?
Only when you stay
Life is colorful ….
A hopeful glow
Echoes of brighter joy
Birds sing cheerful songs
Rays of sunshines warm my cheeks
My yellow dyed dreams return …
Now it’s grey
Everywhere …
When will you come?
Without you, I feel grey ….
Don’t you know?
Grey isn’t what I’m meant to be …
I dreamt of walking
On mountains
And
I dreamt of meeting
You ….
Here I’m walking
On the lands of magical mountains …
High above the crowds and the clouds,
Under the ancient pine trees
I’m in its close embrace ..
Surrendering to the magnificence …
Believe, I could see nothing
In the thread of mist
Caressing the wind
Everywhere I see
You …
Only you …
Heart full of gratitude for this gift of being alive to see the magnificent heavenly beauty by The Divine.
Kashmir, Heaven on Earth
I was waiting
For you
And you didn’t show up
while my odes started to burn …
A heartache …
After a while,
There a humble person came along ..
Seemed so at the moment …
I asked him to take a picture of me and
There I sat at the corner of a bench
In the garden …
Took some time to
Get my mood toned
Up my unsettled face …
There the man waited patiently …
A gentleman ….
Once it’s all set yet unsteady
As I was,
I heard the man said, ‘Ready?’
Twinkled at him and said, ‘Yes’
Smiling …
With the chilly breeze that was
Passing through
I preferred my warm
Jacket kept aside
And my heavy heart smile
For the warmth I needed ….
A harmony ….
Later on I welcomed a friendly
Conversation with the stranger
He seemed to like all of it …
My chitter-chattering
And laughter flowed freely, naturally …
Then we started walking
In the garden, blooming all around
An attachment ….
The balance was the two umbrellas
For each of us,
His violet, mine yellow one
We were walking and talking
Keeping the in-between distance mindfully yet our heart-felt notions were quietly replaying …
The undefined mysteries of the world, meanwhile …
Letting love in our heart, unknowingly …
After a while, we faded into our different paths
Just two strangers with memories
A detachment ….
.
.
.
Tell me, what is that one odd yet beautiful encounter you experienced in your lifetime?
In the stillness of the lake
As I keep still,
I sense you
I sense a feeling of warmth
Flowing inside me …
I sense a reflection of you
Residing inside me …
So beautiful and mesmerising …
Then
I sense the strength to move along
In various ups and downs of life
With you and you only …
.
.
.
.
.
.
Is a reflection of you
A mirror of a beautiful reflection of me?
Or
A reflection of you
Is nothing but a beautiful reflection of me.
Soft yellow breeze …
Sweetness surrounds …
Such tenderness …
Yet a melancholy mood …
.
.
.
.
I know it’s strange
But I do adore you as you are …
And it doesn’t matter
If we live far away from
Each other …
I know it’s strange
That I don’t know about you,
And I didn’t see this coming
But it doesn’t matter
If I constantly long for you
hopelessly …
I know it’s strange
But I love you way too much
And it doesn’t matter
If you can’t prevent me
From loving you forever …
.
.
.
They say
If you want to look for flaws, you’ll find them;
If you want to look for beauty and happiness, you’ll find them too …
What do you want to find?
#roksanatales
#JianBirdCreates
#JianBirdGallery❄️
She knows that he doesn’t know
How it’s hurting in her heart
He knows that she doesn’t know
How it’s hurting in his heart
She knows that he doesn’t know
How she is waiting for him
He knows that she doesn’t know
How he is waiting for her
What she knows he doesn’t know
What he knows she doesn’t know
They only know what they think they know about the other …
Does she know about herself enough?
Does he know about himself enough?
She is not what he thinks he knows about her
He is not what she thinks she knows about him
Who is she to him then?
Who is he to her then?
Strangers!
For now …
In time to come,
They’ll find themselves
Somehow …
.
The photograph is taken by me 😊
Isn’t it a beautiful photograph? I love black and white photography. And you?
She says, He says He says, She says
⁃ You ll get hurt.
⁃ Then try not to hurt me. And why are you determined to hurt me? Do you need time? To think?
⁃ No
⁃ Okay. I asked you to go on a trip with me but why haven’t you replied? What’s with that look? This is boring. Forget it.
⁃ Have you ever lied in your life?
⁃ I don’t lie. But to be truth to you I have lied when I was little.
Oh, wait! I guess I’m lying right now?
⁃ Now?
⁃ The fact that you still haven’t given me an answer about going on a trip together is really getting on my nerves right now. And I’m honestly a little hurt. But I’m acting like I’m fine, so I guess that counts as a lie. Heyyyy, why are you laughing? If you don’t like me that much, let’s just end it here.
⁃ You can’t just thoughtlessly trust someone when they haven’t done anything to gain your trust. We are not kids.
⁃ You have a point. Right!
⁃ Let’s go on a trip.
⁃ What? But I didn’t do anything to gain your trust.
⁃ You did.
⁃ When?
⁃ Just now. You told me you don’t lie. That’s good enough.
⁃ You’re very peculiar.
⁃ Let’s go on a trip to Stupa Island.
⁃ Stupa Island sounds great.
⁃ Okay.
She says, He says
He says, She says
Their conversation while having coffee.
If only you were with me!
If you were with me
I wouldn’t have to search for you.
If you were with me
I wouldn’t have to wait for you.
If I wouldn’t be there
Will you search for me like this!
If I wouldn’t be there
Will you wait for me too?
Not sure and
I can not say
We are much alike or not ….
But at least you could’ve given me a yellow flower
Just because I love yellow,
Or perhaps a yellow covered notebook
Where I may write gibberish which you wouldn’t approve ….
But you could’ve given me at least ….
If you were with me!
Probably we will not meet in this life.
So there is no chance. Alas!
There is nothing I can do to ease a heartache like this
If only you were with me
I wouldn’t have to feel such heartaches!
These days,
The sunrises that I watch everyday with you
Give me the best feelings ever; fascinating and quite spellbound!
I sit with you in this sweet little garden
In silence and serenity …
A glimpse of happiness and ecstasy….
The rays of the rising sun generously cast light upon our soul, peaceful
The crisp, fresh breeze smells so good,
The gentle chirping of birds spread joy,
And now,
Now my heart, pounding and vulnerable
Seems to depend on these moments of sunrises forever …
Am I under any spell or something?
Anyways,
It has made me anew
These days.
He says, ‘Hello’
She says, ‘Hello o o o’
Just this much!
And they say nothing else …..
.
However they talk a lot
With themselves all day long ….
.
Now this silence and noise
Echoing of a wavelength connecting their minds,
Echoing of a wavelength that prefers speechless songs,
Echoing of a wavelength from the same frequency they send in the sky.
.
Well, that’s very odd!
From a simple ‘Hello’ to finding this colourful ‘Wavelength’ symphony.
.
A good vibe though!
What do you say? Hello o o!
.
Let my love surrounds you
Like fireflies
A little light with wings
To fascinate your world wherever you are!
If you ever be in the midst of gloom
And loneliness envelops your soul,
I will always be right there
Like hundreds of shimmering fireflies
To light up your world …
He is perfect anyways,
And he doesn’t need to change anything.
Just he has changed my life
completely—
I never told him that, but I think he knows!
At night
She went to sleep around 11 pm-ish
Slept the whole night to wake up early morning!
Ah! What a beautiful morning and the morning breeze
She is in love with this moment …
Reflecting back the other day ..
Two things hurt her in heart’s core
She was emotional with hurt still attached
Cried a bit or two
She doesn’t want anyone to see it
Made her silent and
She couldn’t get pass of it for long.
Another work made her productive
Tiring yet satisfying ….
And there was another happening that made her happy
For the first time the soul feels joy
As if a blossom in the desert
She felt her worth for an unknown reason
This alone kept her joyful all day long till now
Made her feel she is loved and cared so much …..
They say
Everything happens for a reason.
Then the happening that made her smile and happy has a reason
She falls in love with that reason
At night
She slept long hours …
Her spirit, free and fair
Awoke from its blissful sleep!
As she reflects, humbling herself for a joy she cherishes right now.
Roksana Tales 