Ways of Reading - Mid Term Assignment - Bhumika Singh

BHUMIKA SINGH
S183LEN04
MA English




Prompt 1. Mythological characters

Poem 1-

MARRIED MARID-A

I thought

I have control

Over what I do

And what I don’t.

But he, summoned me!

To marry him!!

Not surprised.

I am one gorgeous jinn.

I was created before.

Before Aphro the deity walked

Over the clouds,

Before Helen became

Mother

To a zillion shrouds.

Before the oldest one

Created

Adam and all.

I was created before.

What a shame

Will be to my name,

If Shayatin gutters my

Pride?

One mortal man mortified me?

Compelled;

With-held;

Dwelled –

Upon the wishes

I grant.

Damn drowning

Dowry

I pay him each day!

Tied to golden lamp,

Tied to wedding ring.

Tied to monotonous life’s ballet!

“Make me immortal!”

That handsome fool said.

“How about make you

A frog instead?”

We quarreled like husband and wife.

Was he especially taught

to treat women that naïve?

I wonder what

One thousand and one nights

Told such men?

This anxious abience

Veins inside of me.

At nights he tries to kiss,

At times Jinn gives a miss.

To slave I wasn’t created.

I was created before.

Beyond the bonds of

Pure and impure.

So apparent at days,

As he scratches the stone,

I protect him –

From desires

From demons

From me.

Perhaps, He

Created me again.

Perhaps, I

Am his own.

“Marid is a kind of jinn or djinn, which exists mostly in pre-islamic Arabian mythology along with many references in ‘One thousand and one nights’ & ‘Arabian Nights’ and herein, I’ve merged it slightly with Greek mythology.

Instead of writing about a male Marid, I chose to depict a female one, calling her Marida (that explains why ‘a’ is mentioned separately from the word Marid.)

Marids are often described as the most powerful type of jinn, having especially great powers. They are the most proud as well. Like every jinn, they have free will yet could be compelled to perform chores. According to folklore, they also have the ability to grant wishes to mortals, but that usually requires battle, imprisonment, rituals, or just a great deal of flattery.”

http://www.creepyhollows.com/faq/index.php?action=artikel&cat=4&id=386&artlang=en

http://cryptidz.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_Jinn_Types

  

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  Poem 2-

GURGLING FOR PRESENT

That kid

Right there I could see.

Fed up of prayers

At playschool he’d rather be.

I zoomed

Close and closer

At his bliss,

For he reminded me

Of that Angel patting; I miss.

My unfeather,

Unscaled skin slipped

Through decades.

Couldn’t shake the past,

Making me

The Church’s last.

Stared at his innocence

And he looked too!

How notorious he is –

He scared me,

More than I could scare you.

Hopped and jumped

He pointed at me.

“Can he be my pet?

I don’t want a pup or kitty!”

***

Just like forever,

I sat still at the perch waiting until the night

To ease this urge

To kill

The stoned days.

Breaking through the

Gurgling

Water aching

At my gut –

From evil battles

I took a short

Cut.

Cracked and

Crunched

Layers of season

Got hunched.

Winged to meet

A tiny friend.

Watching over that brat

Gave me the hint

Of his cathedral.

***

Reached at his sight,

Peeping out

To answer him.

And at my shadow he woke.

Terrified?

Not a tissue

Of that fragile flesh.

He walked

Close and closer

With a still stare,

At my ugly shape

My burning breathe –

He seemed unaware.

That curious kid

Smiled and

Patted my head.

Small hand

Small fingers,

Gently gave a leap of

Hope

At a holy spread.

I can live

Fighting for him

Even cemented –

Care : a gift

We don’t take for granted.

God bless

That kid.

“Gargoyles were known to stand guard and ward off evil spirits and frighten away other creatures that sought harm. The more hideous and frightening in appearance is all the better to scare off all sorts of dark creatures. At night they come to life and protect while one is asleep and vulnerable. And the winged gargoyles can fly around the whole area and cover an entire village or town as well as the church. As the sun rises the Gargoyles resume their place once more to serve as guardians during the day when their fierce visage can be seen and frighten off those that see their faces. Also, they are not monsters or evil themselves. It was said that Angels used to come down and sit next to them to comfort gargoyles.”

https://about-mythical-creatures.weebly.com/gargoyle.html

http://mythicalrealm.com/creatures/gargoyle.html

 

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 Prompt 7. Visual Illustration for poem (Poem 1)

 
 Note for Visual Illustration- The red ring at the end (A heart with a crown) - actually symbolizes prosperity and love. It is an Irish ring designed 400 years ago and is termed as 'Claddargh'. And it is a highly admired 'Promise Ring' as well.







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Prompt 2. Deliberate line-breaks

Poem 1-

Tere - Mere

Mere rukhsar kabhi

Tere

Labh the

Kehna hai mushkil

Fareb the

Ya sach the.

Aabroo

Dil ke sek lage bethi thi,

Tere

Wajood se lipte

Mere

Har lafz the.

Tafseer na do

Mujhe

Inn duriyo ke khatir

Hum

Anjane se hi sahi

Kabhi kareeb bhi the.

Ab farad talak

Intezar rahega

Qurbat ka.

Naseeb

Ke bina kabhi

Tere naseeb

Bhi the.

..................................................................................................................................................

• ·         Rukhsar: Cheek
• ·         Labh: Lips
• ·         Fareb: Fraud
• ·         Aabroo: Dignity
• ·         Tafseer: Explanation
• ·         Farda: Tomorrow
• ·         Qurbat: Closeness
• ·         Naseeb: Destiny

This poem comprises of ‘Sense’ as the most significant S from Wagner’s six S’s, along with ‘Syntax’ and ‘Surprise’ (in last 4 lines – to be specific).

In first stanza, emphasis is on ‘Tere’ – which shows the concern of the narrative voice talking about that one person and followed by ‘Labh the’ in a separate line – might imply to someone that now the narrator is with someone else. This invokes the Sense of touch which the narrator still seeks along with the dilemma of it being fraud or not.

In second stanza, the order in which words are isolated one after the other implies how the narrative finally chose to keep her dignity or self-esteem above the other person. Also, how the ‘self’ and the words are equally important now.

In third stanza, narrator keeps ‘Mujhe’ above ‘Hum’ and both are isolated – signifying that with the other person or by the self, narrator felt alone anyway.

In forth stanza, the line break between ‘Intezar rahega’ and ‘Qurbat ka’ – somehow, means that waiting or patience is now separated from closeness. And at the end, ‘Naseeb’ or destiny had its role to play even if one of them or both of them did not believe in it in the first place.

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Poem 2 - 

Mind. Memory. Behind.

I wish to meet you

When amnesia takes over.

I wish you to meet me

As it gets easier to hover –

Away the pain.

You felt since you

Learned.

As memory knacks off

Pain

Goes with it.

As it isn’t the ache

But

Recalling it

Deepens the dusky pit.

Stay aloof.

“This poem starts with ‘Surprise’ from the second line onwards, as the aim is not just to meet but meet the person after he/she gets amnesia. And then, the wish that the other person wishes to meet after getting amnesia – giving it a further strange tone. In second stanza, line break at ‘you’, makes the line read as ‘You felt since you’ – which is difficult for a person with memory issues, as memories and experiences is what makes a person who they are. Later, isolation of words like ‘Learned’ and ‘Pain’ act as a connector for both because pain is usually followed by learning – yet here we see a reversal. Line break at ‘Recalling’ shows that somehow it is a very crucial yet a tough thing.”
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