Nurtured with soft love,
my sunflower glows with light
watch each petal sprout,
widen, thrive and radiate –
breathing a message of life
***
Sunflower sulks now,
has alienated herself,
turned her face away.
when did the winds of hubris
blow away your faith in love?
© Balroop Singh
Thanks to Colleen and Terri for the inspiration to write syllabic poetry.
My latest book Fusion is available now:
Thank you for your support. Please share this post.
This week’s challenge invitation is to explore the world of collective animal nouns. Hop over to Colleen’s site for more details about this interesting challenge.
A host of sparrows
flit and flutter in delight
courtyard is mirthful
with benefactor’s birthday –
grandma smiles with affection
© Balroop Singh
I am delighted to share my new poetry book ‘Fusion’ with you. It is available for pre-order and will be released on August 11, 2023.
Fusion is the elixir of life. We seek it in every aspect of the cosmos. The magic of fusion manifests itself in the colors of dawn and dusk, in the melodies of nature, in the singing of birds, in the miniscule moments of joy, inspiring us to live in harmony with each other despite the edges that threaten to swallow us.
The poems in this collection are an amalgamation of harmonies and edges that bind us firmly. We have to wade into murky waters to measure the depth. We have to risk the heights to know our worth. Slippery snow makes us learn how to create footholds. Some songs of life dilute in the hourglass of time to erase the shadows – dark or light, all the colors play an equal role to create a fusion.
I am looking forward to your help in promoting it. Thank you for your continued support.
A special thanks to Sally Cronin for making a grand announcement of ‘Fusion’ at her esteemed site.
Balroop Singh.
When I picked up ‘Coming Home,’ I didn’t realize I would be transported to India, as for me, this book brought a myriad memories. Though Smitha takes us through the streets of Bangalore, Kerala and Mumbai but I felt I was back in New Delhi and was once again, visiting all those iconic cities – Bangalore, the “IT capital of India,” Kerala – the “God’s own country,” famous for its backwaters and Mumbai – “the city of dreams,” the hub of Indian Cinema.
I have to share this book with you, as it is much more than just the story of Shanaya.
Twenty-six-year-old, Shanaya, finds her idea of home and family ripped apart when she loses her mother. Her effort to drown herself in her job proves to be financially rewarding and her work is recognized by the organisation. But, even this is not enough to fill the vacuum in her heart or answer the questions, her mother’s sudden death had given rise to. In her quest for peace and the need to hold her family together, she leaves her job in the Middle East and moves to India. The story finds Shanaya journeying across geographical planes and inner landscapes to finally reach ‘home’. Coming Home is a heartwarming story about self-discovery, relationships, loss, love, destiny, the choices we make, and how these choices eventually lead to what we are destined for.
Coming Home by Smitha Vishwanath holds a plethora of cultural nuances that give you an insight into Indian values, relationships and responsibilities. Written in a simple style, the story transports you to the cities and villages of southern India – revealing the scents of a village, of jasmine flowers, of incense in a temple – making them come alive with vivid and descriptive details. Shanaya’s life changes after she returns home to attend the funeral of her mother. Her bold, independent decisions acquaint her with many finer aspects of life.
The book moves at a moderate pace and keeps you invested with new developments, which are knitted effortlessly into the story. The south Indian cuisine, the flavors and their details leave a delectable taste in your mouth. Smitha’s realism also shines through her characters – Shanaya wants to respect the decision of her family but knows what she is looking for in a marriage. Slowly, she rediscovers herself but keeps you guessing till the end. Jai has been crafted with extreme precision, he is so different from other men in the story.
Coming Home is a brilliant book, as it offers much more than just a mundane story of a woman who is trying to come to terms with the travails of life. Highly recommended! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Smitha Vishwanath is your quintessential ‘bored banker’ turned writer. After a rewarding career in Banking in the Middle East where she worked for leading banks in senior positions, she quit and moved to India in July 2018 with her husband who had been transferred to the country on an International assignment. Therein began her writing journey.
Smitha’s poem, ‘Omid’, was nominated ‘Best of the Net’ in 2019. Her poems, ‘Do you Have Dreams’ and ‘Forgotten’, written for the National Poetry Writing Month challenge hosted by Maureen Thompson, won recognition on an international level for two consecutive years, 2021 and 2022. She was nominated as Author of the Month by SpillWords Press for her poem ‘Ye Birds on my Window Sill’ in May 2022. She was recently voted Author of the Month for the months of January and February 2023 for her poem, ‘Two years since you left’ by Spillwords Press. Her poetry has been published by several online publications, including Thieving Magpies, Spillwords Press, Masticadores US, Silverbirch Press, Rebelle Society and has found a place in several noteworthy anthologies.
‘Roads- A journey with Verses’ is a book of poems she co-authored and published in July 2019.
‘Coming Home’ is her debut novel released in March 2023.
When she’s not writing, you’ll find her reading, writing book reviews, sharing her experiences through her blog, painting, walking travelling, or just being. She currently resides with her husband in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Her poems and writing reflect the experiences that come with having lived with people of different cultures.
Her blog Twitter Goodreads Amazon
Thank you!
Balroop Singh
If you like poetry: click here to hear Magical Whispers
Or hang out with Hues Of Hope
The day fears gathered in hordes, the day their attack became vicious, she lay in the darkness of her attic, clouded by the unknown mist, too naive to understand the proximity of clawed hands, fastening on her pristine beauty. The keys bounced around her, drifting away with each effort.
Petrified, she lay
melting in abyss of grief
doors slam around her
any effort to unlatch –
a struggle she despises.
© Balroop Singh
Colleen’s poetry writing invitation for this week:
Write a syllabic poem of your choice using synonyms for the words: “Close & Open.” Please DO NOT use the words, synonyms only.
My synonyms are: Slam & Unlatch. Thank you for the inspiration Colleen.
If you like poetry: click here to hear Magical Whispers
Or hang out with Hues Of Hope
a symbol of love,
an epitome of grace,
a poised purity
of a spiritual bond
inseparable, white swans.
***
watch winter landscape –
a breath of palpable peace
clouds cede their power
wind tiptoes in harmony
Mother Nature is resting.
***
paradoxical
connotations of color
that symbolizes
spiritual awareness,
purity, death and mourning.
© Balroop Singh
Thanks to Colleen for the inspiration to write color poetry. I chose white color, as I have already written poems focusing on orange, green, violet, silver, golden, red, green, blue
Today, the theme of each tanka is different.
Thank you poetry lovers!
If you like poetry: click here to hear Magical Whispers
Or hang out with Hues Of Hope
Emotional Shadows 