Acrostic

Today's writing exercises included one in which we had to write acrostic poems. I have seen examples of it before, but have never attempted one. The pieces were to have a theme for the acrostic, based on an image that was shown. The image I got was one of the golden sky at dusk, with a couple of tree tops, two lights and electric wires just above the trees. 


The theme I picked was "Golden Glow".


Gone are the days of 
Old, where we stopped to stare
Look at the blazing sky and
Dream of the unknown
Entire forests now lie bare
No one seems to care


Gently the sun sets in the West
Life goes on as the city lights take
Over. The trees are few, electric wires block my view.
When will we stop to care? 

Guardians of forgotten vaults (attempt #2)

Ghosts of centuries past
Beheld the treasures and watched
Marauders crossing vast swaths of land
Pillaging, raiding streets paved with gold

Muslim raiders to British voyagers
Scurried away with riches over the years
But with the good graces of Lord Padmanabha
These vaults hidden from grave-robbers, foreign rulers alike

King after King went behind the strong steel doors
Lovingly parting with the wealth from pepper trade
When Famine visited the kingdom, No taxes
Decreed the Royals, Open up a vault

Ghosts of centuries past
Beheld the camera lights and watched
Aghast, cruel wand of fate
Opened up the doors to a salivating populace

No foreign invader could plunder
As completely as masses let asunder
False promises, vague intentions
Precious cargo taken en masse

Be careful, O’ irreverent descendents
Of curses, incantations in the name of the Lord
Devastation, turmoil, unrest spread like wildfire
Return to the Lord, you fools! The ghosts bewailed

Ghosts of centuries past
Beheld the forlorn walls, and waited
Guardians of long-forgotten vaults
They had learnt to be patient

***

Thanks to Ash and Dips for the helpful and constructive feedback that resulted in this post. Also to my dad for the (somewhat unhelpful) unconditional love of everything I write.

Let me know what you think of the two versions!

Guardians of forgotten vaults

Ghosts of centuries past
Beheld the treasures and watched
Marauders crossing vast swaths of land
Pillaging, raiding streets paved with gold

Ghosts of centuries past
Beheld the treasures and watched.
Muslim raiders to British voyagers
Scurried away with riches

Ghosts of centuries past
Beheld the prosperity and watched
King after King visited the vaults within
Lovingly parting with the wealth of the state

Ghosts of centuries past
Beheld the drought and watched
Famine spread in the kingdom, "No taxes"
Decreed the King, "Open up a vault!"

Ghosts of centuries past
Beheld the looters and watched
In wonder of the good graces of Lord Padmanabha
Their vaults safe from grave-robbers, foreign rulers alike

Ghosts of centuries past
Beheld the camera lights and watched
Aghast, cruel wand of fate
Opened up the doors to a salivating populace

Ghosts of centuries past
Beheld the tamasha and watched
No foreign invader could plunder
As completely as masses let asunder

Ghosts of centuries past
Beheld the treasures and watched
False promises, vague intentions
Precious cargo taken en masse

Ghosts of centuries past
Beheld the empty vaults and remembered
Careful curses, incantations in the name of the Lord
"Take heed, irreverent descendants", they whispered

Ghosts of centuries past
Beheld the horrors and wept
Devastation, turmoil, unrest
"Return to the Lord, you fools!" they said

Ghosts of centuries past
Beheld the forlorn walls, and waited
Guardians of long-forgotten vaults
They had learnt to be patient

Rivers of red

Proudly we fight, yet
We run, we hide
In the jungle’s quiet
But how can we hush
the screams of the dead?

Travails of a license renewal

Lets start at the very beginning,
A very good place to start.
I knew that my license was expiring,
So I went down to PennDOT.

For lack of a SEVIS id,
the homeland security database kept halting
because of a mis-spelled name,
it didn’t know I was now on a H1B.
They sent my docs to Harrisburg for verification.
Told me to come back two weeks later
If in the mail, I didn’t get a letter

When I went to PennDOT yesterday,
I was told to go to immigration (USCIS).
Frustrated, I sat in my car and logged on using my Blackberry
The sight of an 8.30 appointment did make me merry

If only for a little bit
Coz, of course there was another hitch
The USCIS said the mistake was on the Customs database
At the border port, when someone had typed my name in haste

Can you fix it though?
I asked. The answer, a No.
He told me to go down to the Customs Border Patrol office
A cargo building near the airport, in Coraopolis

By then I got a voice message from PennDOT
Saying, perhaps your request, we can accommodate
Filled with hope, I went down there
And it was another hare-brained scare

We wanted to try your documents with a random SEVIS ID
Clearly operating in a manner willy nilly
As he tried experimenting, I prayed a ton
But we were back to square one

I drove the 23 miles to customs
An easy fix, said the officer with a gun
And then he said, Wait a day or two
The systems might take time to update, you know

Not trusting him, I went again to PennDOT
Seeing my face again so soon made for an aggravated lot
Me: “I got them to fix my name”
PennDOT: “Big government moves slow, It’s still the same”

And so I wait for a letter.
Hoping I can get my hands on the bugger
Unable to drive; would love to kill the mofa
That typed Gowda as Goupa.

FB Do-Re-Mi

Rush: Lets start at the very beginning/ A very good place to start/...Do(e), a deer, a female deer..

Prasanna:

now, lets drink a pitcher of beer......

Yesterday at 2:19pm ·

Valerie:

Re a drop of golden sun

Yesterday at 2:29pm ·

Rush:

Mi, a name I call myself!
@Pras: poda!
Yesterday at 2:29pm ·

Valerie:

Fa, a long, long way to run!

Yesterday at 2:32pm ·

Prasanna:

and a wiener goes well on a bun!!!!

Yesterday at 2:33pm ·

Deepthi:

sew, a needle pulling thread!!

Yesterday at 2:48pm ·

Prasanna:

like my neighbor named Fred......

Yesterday at 2:49pm ·

Deepthi:

who has jam with bread !!

Yesterday at 2:51pm ·

Rush:

@Dips, don't let him break you!!! :D

Yesterday at 2:54pm ·

Prasanna:

but that is exactly what he dreads!!!!

Yesterday at 2:56pm ·

Deepthi:

that soo doesnt rhyme in these threads

Yesterday at 3:05pm ·

Prasanna:

oh now ur questioning my rapping cred!!!!

Yesterday at 3:12pm ·

Deepthi:

when you use slang, I say its underbred!!!

Yesterday at 3:28pm ·

Prasanna:

im trying to think of something that ends with spread!!!

Yesterday at 3:48pm ·

Rush:

I am filled with dread :-P

Yesterday at 4:03pm ·

Prasanna:

umm, get with the program, woman, be creative!!!! dont make me call Judge Dredd!!

Yesterday at 4:18pm ·

Rush:

Are you taking your meds?
(PS: I hadn't seen that dread was already used :) )

Yesterday at 4:20pm ·

Valerie:

La, A Note To Follow So! "I will not be distracted," she said.

Yesterday at 4:38pm ·

Rush:

Ti, a drink with jam and bread!!
Yay, Val, thank you :)

Yesterday at 4:40pm ·

Prasanna:

Who eats jam and bread with tea???!! Uugh!!!

Yesterday at 5:26pm ·

Vishwa:

And it brings us back to Do(e).

Yesterday at 5:29pm ·

Kelechi:

Do(e) a deer, a female deer

Yesterday at 7:31pm ·

Parag:

Do(e), the stuff that buys my beer...Ray, the guy who sells me beer...Mi, the guy, who drinks da beer....Fa, a long way to get beer...So, i'll have another beer....La, look I am drinking beer...Ti, no thanks, I'm drinking beer...Doh (looks in empty beer class) DOH!!!

Yesterday at 9:53pm ·

Deepthi:

i like this rendition of the song better than the original !! :)

19 hours ago ·

Erren:

LMAO!!! That is definitely a better rendition!

12 hours ago ·

Kelechi:

LOL...too funny!

11 hours ago ·

Slaughter of the Innocent

the slaughter of the innocent,
passes by the ignorant
no one knows, no one listens,
faint murmurs of the wind begins
a new life is wrought,
but nothing can be taught
for when there is no innocence,
there cant be any penchance
for learning, or for knowing,
i look upon the change,
and know that no one can gauge
the depths of such an event
for it is but the slaughter of an innocent!

Who was Joanne?

The arrival of the letter,
threw the inmates in a flutter,
and it begged the question,
of the identity of the person.

Who was Joanne?

With a gleam in her eye,
old Judy said 'aye,
It must be the slut,
Miss Annie Nuttlebut'.

Who was Joanne?

'Hush Judy, exercise caution'
Opined Martha, in charge of the action,
'It is not our place to accuse,
this behaviour cannot be excused'.

Who was Joanne?

Sheila loved gossip and scandal,
oh what stories she told of heroes and vandals,
'I think its a code name'
said the very same dame.

Who was Joanne?

'Who could it be' they asked,
around Sheila, they flocked.
Read us the letter,
Loudly, don't just mutter!

Who was Joanne?

'My Dear Darling Joanne,
Meet me after nine,
At the usual place,
Am dying to see your lovely face'

Who was Joanne?

'Let's all watch at nine,
and we will see who meets the swine,
who had the temerity,
to flout authority.'

Who was Joanne?

They saw the wizened old hag,
'Why, its this stupid bag'
Jenny she was known as,
now they knew it was all a farce.

Who was Joanne?

She met up with the cook,
the usual place being the brook,
The lodgers of 'The Drinkleys'
Had fun over their little mystery.

Who was Joanne?