because you are ash in

  my greedy palm,

    because you

can appease me, lull me

  into thinking

    red

means go. I never said

  sad motels spelled

    redemption,

I never said we were

  white picket fence

    dreams.

you will loathe me one day,

  just not now. pride

    is nothing

more than a shining word.

  time will make you

    see.

Water flows in the Pocasset River in July,

Backward from the bay in salt-heavy currents.

Its weight flows; liquid, cold silk, across my body as

I fight the tide, admitting no deterrents.

The romance of the jilted lovers was seasonal,

Like how the jet streams shift and the tides reset.

At times, there were peaceful full moons and gentle waves.

The lovers danced along, two meshed silhouettes.

Then there were others where the romance was history,

Neglected temples and rusted statuettes.

When it died, their chemistry was burned with the bridges

As though methane splashed on a lit cigarette.

Yet, deep inside the soil, a sprout remained alive,

Blooming despite the constant threat of its death.

And so it went, blooming and growing through the good,

Hiding away until the danger offset.

Despite the danger, the tribulations, the hardships,

The bloom ensured they'd have nothing to regret.

She hides her body from my eyes with embroidered silk

In my heart she is naked with skin like milk

Pure and untouched like a new flower risen from seed

My love for her has turned into more it´s need

So much of my day is spent watching her from a far

She is as beautiful as a shooting star

Never to be held by arms as unworthy as mine

She is a Goddess vestal and exquisitely divine

-----------------Inverted Doha-------------------

I have known her since we were children at play

We are friends but she is the light of my dull grey day

Everything brightens as I sing out her name

Even though she will never look at me as the same

I watched her grow from girl into a vision

Never to see all my hopes and dreams come to fruition

Though she acknowledges me I simply exist

She is my one true love never touched or ever kissed

------------------------------------------------------------

© M.Withers/M.Strudwick . All rights reserved.

Both the name The EriduSerpent/EriduSerpent

and any written material is owned solely by the above named.

Permission granted for all written material to be shared but not for profit.

Printing or publishing is prohibited without seeking permission first from said owner.

Sortha –

Her eyes sing the forbidden verse of love, unafraid of the piercing pain it causes to my heart.

Like drops of nectar crystal tears touch the ground, cruelly taking away my soul in ten thousand pieces.

The same as Doha:

Unafraid of the piercing pain it causes to my heart, her eyes sing the forbidden verse of love.

Cruelly taking away my soul in ten thousand pieces, like drops of nectar crystal tears touch the ground.

A beautiful and thoughtful challenge by PhynneBelle. Most of the Hindu scriptures and many Urdu poems are in the form of Dohas, Chaupais (Quatrains), Chhand, Sorthas which are all parts of the Matrika metre (a poetic metre). The Veds, Ramcharitmanas and couplets by Surdas, Kabir and Rahim are mostly in metric forms. 

Dohas by Kabir and Rahim are more recent and even used in common language today. 

One such Doha by Kabir is :

Kabir Says:

Nindak nihare rakhiye, aangan kuti chhaway

Bin pani bin sabun, nirmal kare subhav

निंदक नियरे राखिये, आँगन कुटी छवाय |

बिन पानी बिन साबुन, निर्मल करे सुभाव ||

MEANING

Keep your critic close, you get to know your faults if someone criticizes you, and you have a chance to correct them. Give your critics shelter in your courtyard and listen to the criticism without annoyance, because critic is not your enemy, he is helping you to clean the rubbish from your life without soap and water.

Bathukamma had incense and senses no duller, the girl on the street fell in love with color

Then invited to their home for a celebration - of flowers, womanhood, hopeful extoller

The experience tinged her mind with reds, blues: of curry paste, cumin mixed with a coconut dew

She is Jewish, a dash of Christian yes true; But for that holy day, she celebrated Hindu

“What would Jesus do?” used to be the catchphrase du jour,

asked before every decision, big or small,

but now I can’t recall when last I heard it at all;

so what, has everyone suddenly turned pure?

Or are we no longer concerned with doing what's right,

our consciences lost, our guilt complexes gone?

Verily I say it looks like a new age has dawned,

an age where it now often seems to be night.

Behold, 'tis now the age of just doing what seems right;

but is rightness in our own mind, no measure,

no ultimate ruling on what, or who, to treasure?

Alas, power is king and power is might.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

#loosedoha 

I also could not find info on the number of couplets permitted, so I put 3 together, to comprise one poem, *shrug*.

the music is playing and the world is now tuned out

the people go on moving but in silence

my hands over my ears, I just want to be...not here

I cannot break this nature of defiance

I turn it up to try to drown out the world

with the heavy beats, the drums, the guitars, the voices

if I become deaf from the noise of music

at least I'll still be deaf to the world I've avoided

Your head is filled with the dreams of tomorrow

Never once resting on the time you spend here today

You look past the shining stars and the planets

To find your destiny out beyond the endless way

Where do I fit in the plans for your future

Can I ever become a part of your grand vision

I feel so lonely left here in the darkness

Return so we can seal, in life, our love's decision

#loosedortha #poetry #sortha

(doha)

I wonder, quite often at the existence of God- but, somehow I believe He (or She) exists

Still, while fully believing in a Higher Power- my grief and great misery do so persist

(sortha)

So, with defeat in my eyes and in my heart- I wholeheartedly surrender and bend but don't break

While all evidence suggests religion gone_ the smiles and love from family and friends can't be fake