Poetry Love

How I love reading poetry! I can't recall the first poem I ever read. I remember we started by reading poetry in school syllabus. But it was being explained to us by a teacher, analysed and taught in their interpretation. My first experience of a poem thus remains unknown and undiscovered.

Now that I do know that I like reading poetry, I usually write down entire poems or the few lines that have intrigued me. I have realised that poems convey so much more than prose does. A few lines can affect our psyche so acutely, I often wonder how do the poets do this. Many of them say they write what they see and feel, only in less words. I find this extraordinary. I have known some people who have poetry on their tongue. They can recite lines after lines with an impact that could numb senses.

Because of easy access to Internet these days, it has become very easy to search poetry. A few years earlier, when I had just discovered that Charlotte Bronte also wrote poetry, I searched so hard for her poem, 'Evening Solace.' The first lines that got imprinted on my mind and which have still stayed with me are-

The human heart has hidden treasures,

In silence kept, in secret sealed,

The thoughts, the hopes, the dreams, the pleasures,

Whose charms were broken if revealed.

I still don't know the reason why these lines remain within my mind and heart. Perhaps, because they speak of something that we all are scared to lose. The other poem that has me intrigued is He wishes for the cloths of heaven by W.B. Yeats. I was so moved by the last two lines that I quoted this poem on almost every postcard I wrote, a few years ago.

Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths,

Enwrought with golden and silver light,

The blue and the dim and the dark cloths

Of night and light and the half-light,

I would spread the cloths under your feet:

But I, being poor, have only my dreams;

I have spread my dreams under your feet;

Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

I remember during college, one night I was completing some design project and turned to the internet for some music when I came across She walks in Beauty by Lord Byron. So transfixed was I on listening to the poem in Eric Portman's voice that I completely left what I was working on and heard the poem all night. Listening to those words at that hour of night gave an unusual meaning to the poem. I was quite obsessed since then to listen to poetry recitals every night while working on Design projects.

Nights later, I heard Madonna's recital of 'If you forget me' written by Pablo Neruda.  I admit I'd never heard Madonna's songs so her voice captivated me highly. I was surprised by the intensity of written and spoken words. More than music, where the instruments make an impact on our mind, I got fascinated and deeply engaged with poetry recitals.

Very recently, last year to be precise I came across poetry recitals by Agyeya- the great hindi poet. His deep baritone and the slight tremble in his voice got etched in my memory. His words not just got engraved on my mind but left an enormous mark forever. This recital made me read his works which was the beginning of my acquaintance with hindi literature. Now that I have discovered more resources online, I read poetry in both hindi and other translated regional languages. It's true, poetry does captivate our minds with a long lasting resonance. Happy listening and reading to everyone. :)