on writing well

Written after a longish hiatus from blogging. Comments & criticism welcome as always.

Rebirth

Inside, the swirling wind swishes continuously
swooshing over my shut stony tomb
not powerful to slide its slab though
stiff enough to arouse the stirrings
of disturbance inside the confined hole.
Dark and bottomless, but I can’t see–
I’m stirring and trying to turn,
I wind my neck tight and kick,
a whiff unbeknown escapes in a gush,
a sudden dazzle greets the eyes I open and quickly close,
a rumble that begins in my belly becomes
a wail, and a shrill shriek—
multiple, painful simultaneous experiences like
gigantic waves that lash helpless pebbles who
gladly die this second in secure knowledge of
their rebirth in the next.

Tags: Original Poetry, Poem, Poetry, Rebirth

For all you Twitter ignoramuses and/or newcomers, here’s the Definitive Guide to Twitter. It is work in progress and the whole world is invited to contribute.

So ladies and gentlemen, presenting Twexicon.

Presenting Twexicon continued »

Can’t yell out at you now for
Inflamed fights over small beer–
A yell once in months two or eight, or a year or
In smoking afternoons or hazy rings of eventides
In stinking cellars or dizzy stairs–
Verbal brawls wasted and
Now long forgotten
Now recalled in raw hurt.
The yell eternally strangled,
A promise to remain unfulfilled,
A source parched forever,
A call met with inaudible echo,
A wide-hued painting turned stark White–
A life of promise sliced by a fatal incision.

Tags: Death of a Friend, In Memoriam, Original Poetry, Poem, Poetry, Sonnet in Memoriam, Writing

Kris inspired this post with her musings on doing UX in an Agile environment. Echoing her concerns, here are some lessons I learned working as a writer in that setup. Agile emphasizes on minimal planning and doing things at short intervals or iterations. In a way, every iteration has a specific, measurable goal, which is usually goes like this: complete X by the end of 25 March. If that goal isn’t fully achieved by that date for whatever reason, it is deferred to the next iteration. So, if X was only 75% achieved, 25% is deferred to the next iteration.

Stray Thoughts on Working in the Agile Mode continued »

I’m not a great admirer of T.S Eliot’s poetry. It doesn’t mean I dislike it. If the much-touted Wasteland supposedly showcases his talent at its pinnacle, I must say it is not quite a talent at all. I like his Love Song of Alfred J Prufrock much better in comparison. Here’s the thing: if the greatness of your work lies in the obscure meaning it putatively conveys, you actually do your readers a disservice. Think about it.

T.S. Eliot Rejected Animal Farm continued »

Another poem. Comments and criticism welcome as usual.

Noises on my way to work–
Opposite me, on the outside,
From the side hurtling forth with unexpected rush,
Overtaking me from directions real and imaginary.

Loud sounds around the window or
When I open my door, I welcome more noise to trespass;
Walks all around inside my house,
Its power empowers but itself.

Cymbals bearing the non-Lawerence din
Ring in my head, shiver my being with
Uninvited, violent vibrations, I wonder
What vestige remains of me that I have wasted so much
Of irretrievable Solitude.

Tags: Original Poetry, Poem, Poetry

It’s almost been a month since I posted something. Here’s some original poetry I wrote on the fly dedicated to the One Who Shall not be Named.

I quite like the way you clarify
With words repeated and repetitive wordplay
With conjoined alphabets and letters– or is that
Alphabetter, the way you invent your own
Spellings, assign old sounds to your
Evernew matings of the letters–
In your confusion lies clarity.

Tags: Original Poetry, Poem, Poetry, Word Play, Wordplay, Words

As much as the word offends the sensibilities, here’s a picture I made to illustrate why. Comments welcome as always.

I’ve been a long time admirer of 37Signals roughly from when it was a Web design/consulting company to its current avatar. Naturally, I have to share Jason’s superb posts on effective writing. He calls them “writing decisions” but it eventually culminates in effectiveness because it is aimed at achieving some goal.

Writing Decisions continued »

Some more original poetry.

Just the teasing tips of the leaves shimmering so well, visible
Outside my window makes my mind’s eye
Want to trace its resting branches all the way
To the trunk further down to the root; ’tis futile
I know those will be replaced leaves tomorrow like
The lesson I tried to teach you–
To love is to lose, to be attached is to unglue
To eternalize a bond is to
Break it.

Tags: Original Poetry, Poem, Writing