“Sometimes you don’t need wind beneath your wings but ballast rocks beneath your feet to move forward.“

Hello fellow poets!

I admit at the outset that I am a borderline procrastinator who works best under pressure of deadlines. But sometimes I do surprise myself by planning ahead. But this time when I planned to a T, life swished her skirt disdainfully and everything  went awry. Oh, well! I am the never-say-die kind of girl. When life hands tangerines, I grab them with both hands and when handed lemons, I try and  make lemonade.

Quite unlike LoveLy here! 👇🏽

When life gives you lemons...

“It’s so funny when people say make lemonade!

Because all the lemons I’ve ever been given,

have been moldy and much too bruised to truly

make some good lemonade to get me through the day.”

Both my kids had to appear for their entrance exams (daughter for masters and son for undergrad) during the months of May and June. My husband and I took them all over the city as and when required. We also took them out of city, sometimes by road, at others by train or flight.  So far my planning went perfectly.

As these two months had been hectic, we had planned a short vacation at the beginning of July as most of the results for the entrance exams were expected in the second half of the month. I had scheduled my RDP prompts, taken leave from dVerse but fate intervened at a whim. We had to dash to Kolkata to visit my husband’s aunt as she was not well. The silver lining is that she is doing well now.

A clay coloured mug

            Meandering words

“a clay coloured mug

with the dregs

of now-cold coffee

swirling with bits

accumulated dust

and a fallen fly

left on the side

it needs to be washed

but will be ignored

time and again

each time i pass by

because of how

it is stained;

not by the rings

lining it’s inner surface

from top to bottom

with striations of brown

but because of

the lipstick smudge

on its outer edge

a sign of her presence

of all the memories

that a smear of red

can conjure

and a reminder

that she will

be home soon”

I would have been back on WordPress sooner but life had some bittersweet twists in store. My son got admission in the institute he coveted but we couldn’t send him there. As most of you know, he is a Type 1 diabetic. This institute is in a not very well connected city. The insulin he uses and the CGMs ( constant glucose monitor) are not readily available there. Nor was the doctor on the campus equipped to handle a diabetic in case of emergency. With a heavy heart we had to decide to let go of this opportunity.

To our delight, our daughter was shortlisted for integrated Msc-Phd course at a reputed research institute. But as luck would have it, since the government has reduced grants to research institutes, only 8 out of 12 candidates were given admission and she was 9th on the list! Tell me about luck!

When life gives you lemons…

             Diane Neilson

“I like that the wind can hurl me its bluster but not knock me down

I like that the clouds can throw me their tears but not make me cry

I like that the hail can pelt her tiny marbles, but that I can turn my back and laugh

I like that the mist can surround me in its veil but not get me lost”

Both my kids are now studying in Delhi. They are enrolled in Delhi University which is a good university. I draw solace from the fact that for the next couple of years they will be staying at home. I keep reminding them that there is always something that we can takeaway from such setbacks, though honestly, they don’t seem convinced. But kids are blessed with the ability to move ahead and I see them

Good Timber

      Douglas Malloch

“Good timber does not grow with ease,

The stronger wind, the stronger trees,

The further sky, the greater length,

The more the storm, the more the strength”

Mother to son

               Langston Hughes

“So, boy, don’t you turn back.

Don’t you set down on the steps.

‘Cause you finds it’s kinder hard.

Don’t you fall now-

For I’se still goin’, honey,

I’se still climbin’,

And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.”

As I was writing this draft, we got the news that the institute where my husband teaches has been taken over by a corporate giant. Just when we were looking forward to his being home while working, he might have to go back to sailing it seems. Life and its crazy plans!!

I give up. No more planning. I am going to take each day as it comes and squeeze the best out of it. What do you say?

My dark horses

             Jodie Hollander

“If only I were more like my dark horses,

I wouldn’t be so frightened

of the storms;

instead, when the clouds began to gather and fill

I’d make my way calmly to the shed,

and stand close to all the other horses.

Together, we’d let the rain fall round us,

knowing as darkness passes overhead

that above all, this is the time to be still.”

I am sorry to have bored you all with my litany of woes but I would love to know how you deal with setbacks in life. Share with us in the form of a poem, of course, are you the kind to bounce back, do you curse and rant when things go wrong or do you wallow in self pity. As always you are free to interpret the prompt in any which way.

As always please write a poem on your blog.

Link back your post to this post.

Share the link of your post at Mr.Linky below. Mr. Linky will be open till 03.00 pm of 4th.

Please come back and read the other poems and start a conversation. We love interacting with each other and feedback always helps us become better poets.

Happy poeming!