[Jahr

Sripriya Sitaraman

[Geben Sie den

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A Penny for your Thoughts

2

Poems on Poems ................................................... 5

Writing .......................................................................... 6

for Franz .......................................................................... 6

Clouded Skies ................................................................ 7

Capture This .................................................................. 8

Write on Course in Champs-du-Moulin .............................. 9

Observations ....................................................... 11

Kids are like Plants Pestolozzi said .................................. 12

City-Jungle .................................................................. 13

Fate Acomplie .............................................................. 14

Holiday at Home ........................................................... 15

3

Conundrum .................................................................. 16

Walking home .............................................................. 17

Last Tram Home ........................................................... 18

The mirror ................................................................... 19

Strange Day ................................................................ 20

Insomnia ..................................................................... 21

Isolation ...................................................................... 22

Carpe Diem ................................................................. 23

Center Stage................................................................ 24

Ouch ........................................................................... 25

Settling Down .............................................................. 26

4

Travel .................................................................. 27

Line of Control ............................................................. 28

Joyride ........................................................................ 29

Travelling alone ............................................................ 30

Travelling Alone II ........................................................ 31

An Authentic Experience ................................................ 32

A Busride in Connemara ................................................ 33

You don’t want to be one of them ................................... 34

I never knew ............................................................... 35

Taken on a Ride ........................................................... 36

Focus .......................................................................... 38

5

Poems on Poems

6

Writing

for Franz

Turning my inside out, To be deep; Keeping my inside in, To be light; Scratching my brains together, To be short; Spelling my heart out, To thank you For making me write.

7

Clouded Skies

The Sunday walk is Not so relaxing When there is A commissioned poem Casting a long shadow On all those lovely daffodils

A reaction to William Wordsworth's "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud"

8

Capture This

nature

dancing around inducing the poet

to collect lines like a bunch of flowers

A reaction to William Wordsworth's "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud"

9

Write on Course in Champs-du-Moulin

The place feels like endless walks with breaks at (ten) remote restaurants. Like tracing up a farmer who will (twenty) let you have some of his Absinth1. It also (thirty) feels like hanging around with friends spanning the world (forty) in thought and pinning parts of it onto paper. (Done)

(Task: Write about an aspect of the Writing course in exactly fifty words)

1 Absinth is a spirit which was, until recently, not only prohibited by law but by the Swiss constitution. Nevertheless it has been and will probably always be

10

11

Observations

12

Kids are like Plants Pestolozzi said

You give them food and drink And make sure they’ve got shelter. You give them all your love And appoint proper guidelines. You can’t do more than that So lean back and watch them develop. If they fail to grow to perfection The plants won’t mind some trimming.

13

City-Jungle

You know that the order’s been upset when you on your rattling bike have to overtake the latest model Ferrari.

14

Fate Acomplie

Fate is nothing but the Universe’s response to our own actions.

15

Holiday at Home

loafing around doing nothing thinking a lot feeling compelled to work doing a lot thinking nothing.

16

Conundrum

the worst

thing about a wonderful day is to

have to find a perfect way to end it.

17

Walking home

My job’s a bore, My belly’s expanding, My bank account’s on hold, And the philatelists’ society’s just gone bust. Well, I hope the wife’s got tea ready.

18

Last Tram Home

Trying to read with giggling women behind me. My irritation melting away when I hear one of them say that this day had been just as much fun as her eighty-fifth birthday.

19

The mirror

Standing in front of the mirror I see myself. Moving forward I see my face. Stepping closer I see my eyes. Looking deeper I see the silver foil behind the glass.

20

Strange Day

Either it's just one of those days when the Amnesty International activist doesn't ask you to sign the petition the gentleman at the sample stall politely ignores you the lady at the boutique directs you to the sales-rack the seat next to you stays empty the whole way the police stops you to check your identity Or the word "expatriate" is just less appropriate than "foreigner"

21

Insomnia

After dawn breaks I get up and look for all those pieces of lost sleep.

22

Isolation

When dawn descends on my one-bedroom flat I feel gratitude for phones.

23

Carpe Diem

Thinking of them while talking to you Wanting to stay when chosen to go Worrying about tomorrow while feeling fine Forgetting to enjoy when having fun

24

Center Stage

The stream combing the moss to groom the old stones The sun and trees working together To form A stunning spotlight The fallen wood ganging up with the bushes To build A breathtaking backdrop

25

Ouch

the thickest thing on Earth is the window through which that fly is trying to escape.

26

Settling Down

Collecting experience Ignoring failure Falling over Moving on Starting over Dodging failure Avoiding experience

27

Travel

28

Line of Control

How long can the trees Keep a grip on the unsealed floor Tripping up estate agents Trying to whisk by on their rollerblades? How long can the high fence Ward off the towering buildings Who send in their sneaking shadows Every night? How long can the smoke of barbeque fires Besiege the air Keeping away The concrete?

Reaction to a picture of Central Park with Skyscrapers in the background.

29

Joyride

For once I can stop the world that’s whisking past me by pulling the break.

30

Travelling alone

The most tiring thing Is knowing that you won’t get A break from yourself

31

Travelling Alone II

It’s not that I want to share thoughts or discuss my experiences It’s just that it would Be lovely to have some one To cry “look there” to.

32

An Authentic Experience

I step out of the quaint café The one with white walls and blue door Turn right and walk along Main Street red walls, black door yellow walls, blue door green walls, red door At the end of the road I turn left Up the narrow street to my hostel grey walls, off-white door off-white wall, white door grey walls, grey door Looking back and forth I wonder Which one I should consider the real Ireland When an old lady emerges from a grey door, Hurriedly wobbles towards me And shakes my hand To welcome me to her street. Now I know.

33

A Busride in Connemara

The view

looks as though God made this landscape to look a bit more beautiful than the

real thing.

34

You don’t want to be one of them

-when they seriously discuss whether they’re looking at horses or ponies at the Annual Connemara Pony Show. - when they ask for directions to Doolin at the Independent Doolin Town Hostel. - when they tell you they didn’t bring a rain-jacket because it is their summer holiday. - when the conductor tells them that we’ll be going through a long tunnel and they ask if that is under a mountain.

35

I never knew

I never knew that my life was large enough to just swallow up all these new experiences and new friends I never knew that my life was flexible enough to adjust to so many different places without comparing them to home I never knew that my life was steady enough to make me feel certain that no matter where I went, coming home would be another remarkable experience.

36

Taken on a Ride

I’m longing to feel your hand on me And my fingertips itch to touch you Leaning back into my seat I close my eyes I imagine him and me in this countryside Strolling along that little path we just passed Then sitting down in a field with wild flowers I can feel his hand almost touching me Then his finger running down my neck and my shoulder And as I lean back, he hugs me He whispers those three words into my ears: I love you My heart jumps.

37

Tears spring into my eyes I get up and jump around Not knowing how to deal with this happiness I stop. This can’t be true This wouldn’t happen to me I turn around to check if he’s still there Yes, there he is: He’s getting up and walking towards me Then, he turns and steps out of the bus.

38

Focus

Every morning I look into my tunnel I know it by now. I know where to hold on to. I just keep walking towards the other end Of course, I want to know what I’ll find there But I also want to explore every nook and cranny on the way.