Last month, I attended a poetry workshop called Soulcraft on poetic forms. It was only for a week but I was amazed as to how much I learnt in this short span of time. Writing poems is not always about emotions but it becomes tricky and challenging when you have to follow the rules to put it in the right structure. I learnt many forms ( Blitz/ Villanelle/ Sonnet/ Found Poetry and many more forms) and every day was a challenge to come up with your own creation. It was amazing to interact and read other participant’s creations as well. The best part was the comprehensive knowledge provided by the mentors after a thorough research. All the pieces that I created are dear to me. the below piece is one of my own creations during this amazing session that I had last month. If you love poems , you can certainly join this workshop and enhance your knowledge. I highly recommend it.

I had no idea that Ghazal can be written in English. Below are the points to remember while penning down a Ghazal. This is what my mentors taught me .

The theme of the Ghazal can be love or longing but you can choose any topic to write on as contemporary Ghazals are written on a wide variety of topics.

• It consists of a minimum of 5 couplets and no more than 15 couplets
• Each couplet is a stand-alone piece
• Each line in the poem is almost of the same length, though meter is not strict in English
• In the first couplet, each line ends with the same word.
• The first couplet introduces a rhyme *inside* the lines, right before the final word.
• The end word will now repeat at the end of every *second* line of the rest of the couplets along with the *inside* rhyme also in the second line.
• In the last couplet, the poet could choose to add his or her name and a ‘turn’ which is often humorous or odd.

You, Me & the Rain…


 Desire travels in the misty air of the sanguine rain,
 wings of ache flapping across realms of divine rain.

Passion awaits in a corner, soulmates camouflaged, 
as strangers being played in the algorithm of pristine rain.

Coincidence walks by the sea painted in ruby red,
a smile there, a pause here as eyes meet in the sublime rain.

 Dreams dance hidden beneath the crocheted pashmina shawl,
 fragrance of the frangipani filling the senses in the fine rain.

Intimacy sighs under the olive-coloured foliaged veranda,
cacophony melting into symphony melting hearts in the sudden rain.

Tenderness of loyalty simmering on the slow flame,
as the moon peeps out of the clouds in the benign rain.

 You & Me, exist together in moments just like the petrichor,
as fumes of the yagna, Gayatree; purify the atmosphere performed in the divine rain!

My certificate 🙂

Love,

Chinmayee