SEW SAREE #5

HAIKU HEMS

hands spin and spin
summer sun…
yellow saree

hands weaving
sunshine
in gold embroidery

yellow saree—
sun and sunshine are
horizontal

straightness
of sunshine—
hung fabrics

straightly
sunshine fall
from the sewing machine

sunshine
bubbles out
from the sewing machine

sunshine rays—
stitched saree
spun out

sunset…
this saree slips
from the fingers

SEW SAREE #4

HAIKU HEMS

faded summer sun
still standing…
spooled yellow saree

standing sunset
in the downpour…
spooled yellow saree

summer sunshine
drenched to the bone…
spooled yellow saree

rays of sun
standing in a row…
spooled yellow saree

lingering heat
one weathered spooled saree
stands alone

SEW SAREE #3

vendor sari
unwrapped and open…
summer sunshine

spooled sari swathe–
the desert sun
wrapped in a reel

spooled sari
unfolding…
summer sunshine

summer sun spinning
round and round…
spooled saree

vendor hands, buyer hands
all enjoying
saree sun’s warmth

summer’s warmth…
the stood-up
yellow saree spools

SEW SAREE

HAIKU HEMS #2

sheer fabric
flits and flutters…
snowy peaks

twinkling stars
without any motion
fabricated saree

fresh snow
in soft slow ripples
pulled spool

nude saree
the body casts off its
second skin

spring mud—
the silky saree
squelches

SEW SAREE

TANKA STITCHES #2

in mum’s arms
i am swaddled, drenched
in tumbling yellow fabrics —
this six-yard sun
rivals the real one.

enfolded sunshine —
how thickly mum’s sari
layers and tangles;
her hands knot the cord
that ties me to the heavens by cloth.

such enticing wonders
to compare —
mum’s enfolding sari,
spring’s sunny warmth seeping
deep into my skin.

yellow strand —
a single extension of sunshine
wrapped around me.
the fabric keeps its heat
in a different color.

ten thousand stitches—
this summer garb sewn
in a drifted moment.
but the sun’s shine?
still chill, indeed.

SEW SAREE

TANKA STITCHES #1

with mum’s arrival
i am swaddled, drenched
in tumbling yellowed fabrics —
this six-yard shine
rivals the sun.

yellow upon yellow —
wrapped as though swaddled
in sunshine.
in these hours,
mum’s love shines brightest.

mum has wrapped around me
a fabricated cord
tying me to the sun —
not heaven’s fire,
but passion’s cloth.

distant is the sun,
yet mum swaddles me in
this patterned sari —
its scent and hue
hazing spring sunshine.

even when mum leaves,
this sari holds
her yellow knot.
i do not unfold it.
sunshine needs its folds too.

SEW SAREE

HAIKU HEMS #1

speed
of a sleeve moving away
eclipse

eclipse—
aligning sleeves
on sewing machine

straightly
sleeve’s edge falls
upon another

pile up
of sewn sleeves…
darkness of a solar eclipse

sewn sleeve
looking like
night edge

Milky Way
when sewn sleeves
are at machine’s edge

SEW SAREE

POETIC CATEGORIES…

TANKA STITCHES
FIVE LINES SEWN INTO SIX YARDS OF FEELING.

HAIKU DRAPE
SEVENTEEN SYLLABLES, ONE UNFOLDING PALLU.

HAIKU HEMS
PLAYS ON HAIKU’S BREVITY + HEM AS SAREE EDGE.

SENRYU SEAMS
SEAMS HOLD. SO DO SECRETS. SO DO SAREES.

FREE POEMS
UNSTITCHED FREE
SEWN NOWHERE. FLOWING EVERYWHERE.

FREE FOLD
PLAYS ON FREE VERSE + THE FOLD OF A SAREE.

RIDDLE RAVANA
PLAY ON RAVANA = TO WEEP/CHANT IN Sanskrit, also the demon-king for clever riddles.

GUESS THE DRAPE
GUESS THE DRAPE. UNRAVEL THE VERSE.

SEW WHAT? PLAYFUL, PUNNY, PERFECT FOR RIDDLE ANSWERS.

SEWN SONNET
SONNET (14 LINES)

VILLANELLE VASTRA
VILLANELLE (19 LINES, REPEATING REFRAINS)

COUPLET CREASE
COUPLET (TW0-LINE RHYMES)

ELEGY FOR AN EDGE
ELEGY (MOURNING POEM)

LIMERICK LOOMS
LIMERICK (HUMOROUS, 5 LINES)

GHAZAL GATHER
GHAZAL (REPEATED REFRAIN + COUPLETS)

HANDY QUADRAKU XX

Jadeiku (Jade + Haiku): A poem about stillness, permanence, or nature, crafted with the precision and value of jade.

Haidu (Haiku + Jade in Japanese, which is Hisui 翡翠): A softer blend, hinting at the Japanese origin of both concepts.

JADEIKU SERIES

bamboo shoots
a thick piece of green
inside

greenness
locked inside
bamboo shoot

layered greens
inside—
a bamboo shoot

greenness—
where bamboo shoots begin
ascending

HANDY QUADRAKU XVIII

Jadeiku (Jade + Haiku): A poem about stillness, permanence, or nature, crafted with the precision and value of jade.

Haidu (Haiku + Jade in Japanese, which is Hisui 翡翠): A softer blend, hinting at the Japanese origin of both concepts.

HAIDU SERIES

bamboo field
its wavering surface
flat as the seas

sound of green waves
flattened…
bamboo field

bamboo shoots
bend freely
green waves

bending
of bamboo shoots
green ocean