Will you read my story today?
or avert your gaze, skip words
composed by an unfamiliar name
in your timeline? Easier to like
the feted ones here, matured
in language, art, defined sales,
the close-knit literary circles?
Yes, one may even notice your heart,
say ‘thank you’ with an emoji
or even be humbled by your reading.
Do not fret, I do the same!
§
Quod sit Vida.
Why am I quoting a Latin phrase?
Apt nuances, read before.
la Vida Loca in Espanol
but yes, along those lines… Maya.
Do you prefer lived experiences?
or verse written under the influence
of ‘honeydew’?
Coleridge’s immortal Kubla Khan.
I have truly lived my words,
crossed the seven seas, travelled
to antique lands, paced the spaces
I dwelled in. Therefore, the tales
I weave, the images I conjure
remain fathomable.
Jayshree Misra Tripathi has been a consultant, international programmes educator, examiner in English Language & Literature. She tweets @JayMTrips.
Featured image credit: Piyapong Saydaung/Pixabay