This is my slightly longer than One -Liner Wednesday than I usually do ..but I think it is worth it!
This memorable interaction is a famous comedic exchange from the 1965 Beatles movie, Help! In the film, the band seeks protection from Scotland Yard because a mystical, dangerous cult is trying to steal a sacrificial ring stuck on Ringo Starr’s finger.
The exact script dialogue unfolds as follows:
Superintendent:“So this is the famous ring?”
Ringo:“I’m in fear of me life, you know!”
Superintendent:“And these are the famous Beatles?”
John:“So this is the famous Scotland Yard, eh?”
Superintendent:“And how long do you think you’ll last?”
John:“Can’t say fairer than that. The Great Train Robbery, eh? How’s that going?”
This week’s host for Tanka Tuesday is Colleen, here is what she has to say about : “The Significance of Color in Japanese Poetry“
Connection to Nature
In Japanese poetry, color is intricately linked to nature. Poets often draw inspiration from the natural world, using colors to evoke specific emotions and imagery. This connection allows readers to experience the beauty of the seasons and the environment through vivid descriptions.” You can read more about this and all the Tanka Tuesday Guidelines here at Colleen’s prompt.“
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So this week, let’s explore color in our Japanese poetry. Using (a) color as a metaphor, write your poem connected to your favorite season.
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I am going for Autumn 🍁 again as I love it so much, it is my safe season. The colours I have chosen are Golden (Ki ) Power and devine mercy, Green,Blue (Ao) commonness and simplicity.
I remember travelling through Tuscany one year in Autumn 🍂🍁. We passed a field full of Sunflowers… they were past their best. Waiting for their seeds to be harvested. I was struck by sadness… bowed heads, they looked tired and wet. There had been rain… and yet the golden sun was out and the sky was so blue. So renewal was on its way.
I have written two poems, An Etheree and An Haiku.
Sunflowers Rebirth. Etheree
I think that I have not Seen a sadder Scene than golden heads Turned to brown bowed by rain. Nature’s way to revival To make oil or rebirth. It’s true, All those dying heads are a sad view. Against a Tuscan sky that is so blue.
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Circle of life. Haiku.
A blue Tuscan sky Holds the mighty golden orb All things run their course
This week Jim has asked us to find a song that uses the words bare, birthday suit, buff, exposed, liberated, naked, naturist, nude, or skin. … Well I have a favourite song about all the afore mentioned prompts… yet the nearest it gets to mentioning them is Bodies …The song treats sex and love really beautifully and gently.
The accompanying video was made by Imogen and her partner Michael Lebor ( a film director). It was filmed exclusively by them in their own house. … Imogen was newly pregnant with her daughter Florence Scout Rosie, known as Scout at the time… I think it makes the song even more special.
“Entanglement is part of Sparks, the fourth studio album by Imogen Heap, released on 19 August 2014 through Megaphonic Records in the United Kingdom and through RCA Records in the United States. Recorded between 2011 and 2014 across four different continents, with a new song being written and released every three months, it was primarily written and produced by Heap, with additional writing and production from collaborators Deadmau5, Vishal–Shekhar, and B.o.B, as well as production from Nick Ryan. Info Wiki“
Entanglement was made the old fashioned way … I don’t think Imogen even used her Mi Mu gloves, which she invented and developed, on the track.
Here we are Blood pressure rising fast Air electric Conduct this orchestra
A micro utopia born As the overture plays This prelude to life long love Our bodies entanglement takes You all over me Me all over you
Fearless heart I’m gonna take care of you Whether spark or spiral I’ll pull the strength of suns
It’s home where you hold me So show me no mercy On islands of cotton Taboos get forgotten Our body entanglement wants You all over me (me, me, me) Me all over you (you, you, you) You all over me
Oh, burst me into bloom I dare you to Lose yourself in our embodiment Ravage this palate of pinks and reds and Dissolve into radiance
It’s home where you hold me So show me no mercy On islands of cotton Taboos get forgotten Our body entanglement wants You all over me (me, me, me, me, me) Me all over you, you, you, you You all over
I wasn’t there Friday so This is Jilly’s Haiku Friday… on Monday. Here’s what Jilly said about our prompt. “Date unknown. This is some sort of track/print in the damp soil after a rain. I have no idea why I took this photo except that I am easily stopped in mid step by all kinds of nature sightings.“
Yvette is our host Tanka Tuesday. Here is what she has asked for in her her prompt: “So, this week, I thought we would focus our poems on the theme, Tread with Trepidation, which means to proceed or walk through a situation with great caution, fear, or nervous hesitation.
You could focus your poem on cautious movement – taking slow, careful steps because you expect trouble or danger ahead. You could focus on the emotional state of trepidation – feeling a shaky, nervous worry about a future event or decision. Or you could focus on the metaphorical caution of the theme – handling a sensitive topic, a difficult person, or a risky plan very carefully so you don’t make a mistake.” You can join in here.
Thank you Yvette for this interesting post.
Hubby should be a Buddhist… He is forever making me a nervous wreck by suddenly saying “Mind out.” “Why” I ask ” Is it dangerous ?” “No mind the ants” …
Walking in trepidation .
Stop Don’t move Will I fall? No watch the ants So I nearly fall Hubby worries about Insects, more than he does me. As I walk in trepidation My body quakes in fear of his wrath. The Buddhist in him makes me quake for sure.
It has been said, ‘time heals all wounds.’ I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But it is never gone.
A book that explores grief, loss, healing and the strength it takes to begin again. Through heartfelt verses, the collection is a reminder that healing is possible even after life’s heartbreaks. Smitha Vishwanath
The poems in ‘The Inheritance of Solitude’ explore the loss of parents, home, health, and friendship, and the journey of healing, reflecting on personal and collective experiences of sorrow and hope. The book is a lyrical journey, captivating in its understanding of humanity’s most challenging subject: grief. It embraces the vulnerability of love set against a redolent world of beauty and family, where we sit at the poet’s table, experiencing the intense majesty of a world filled with love, loss and finding oneself again. – Candice L. Daquin, Managing Editor, Lit Fox Books, Associate Editor, Life & Legends, Author, ‘The Cruelty.’
Smitha Vishwanath’s poems arrive almost like a whisper against the skin, and linger long after they are read. This collection is not merely read. It is inhabited. – Kabir Deb, Writer, Reviewer & Translator
The poems in The Inheritance of Solitude have a delicate feeling and sensitivity that resonate and gently linger. As they weave a tapestry of thoughts that speak of loss and holding on, of invisible struggles that remain mostly within oneself, the poems in the volume also create a sense of community. – Nishi Pulugurtha, Academic, Author, Poet & Translator
This is my review. This book is a perfect read for everyone. Whether or not you have experienced loss and whether or not you like poetry. I love poetry yet at first I really was not sure what this book was going to be like … I can honestly say I am so glad I have read it. Smitha takes us through her life in poems, the loss of her mother, how her father became her rock, her roots and her home. Then he got older and ill. Sadly he died, as did her Grandmother and an Uncle all in the same year. This sent her reeling as it would anyone. Through her poetry she guides us through her grief, to the acceptance that life goes on even after we lose those we love. Smitha also guides us through her grief at losing, friends and work colleagues. Even friendships sometimes we have to see these come to an end too. I have experienced the loss of family and friends and The Inheritance of Solitude really strikes a cord with me. There is something for everyone in this book. I say thank you Smitha for sharing.
Smitha Vishwanath is your quintessential ‘bored banker’ turned writer. After two decades in banking in the Middle East, she quit in 2018 and moved to India. She began by writing on her blog and participating in poetry competitions.
‘Roads- A Journey with Verses’ is a book of poems she co-authored and published in July 2019.
‘Coming Home’ is her debut novel released in March 2023.
Her first solo book of poems, ‘The Inheritance of Solitude’ has been published in July 2026
A Pushcart Prize (2023 for her poem, ‘Out of Order’) and Best of the Net (2019 for her poem, ‘Omid’) nominee, Smitha’s poems have been recognised both nationally and internationally. Her poetry has been published by several online publications, including Thieving Magpies, Spillwords Press, MasticadoresUS, Silverbirch Press, Borderless Journal, Rebelle Society, StoryChat and has found a place in several noteworthy anthologies including ‘Unhoused’, ‘The Kali Project’, ‘Poetry Treasures- Passion’, ‘The Short of It’. In 2021, she was awarded the Reuel International Prize (II) for poetry and in 2023, her novel won the Asian Literary Prize (Runner up)
When she’s not writing on her blog, you’ll find her reading, writing book reviews, painting, travelling, going on long walks or just being. She currently resides with her husband in Nairobi, Kenya. Her poems and writing reflect the experiences that come with having lived in several countries.
One of Smitha’s poems is called My Home is The River . I chose this song to send to her because I feel it sums up some of her feelings….and definitely mine .
This week Jim Adams has asked us to write about Human Behaviour ! He says “This week the theme for Song Lyric Sunday is to find a song that reflects different types of behavior that people exhibit.” Jim has a brilliant explanation of his theme plus the rules and Guidance on his page here. Well let’s go first with Bjork and human behaviour.
If you ever get close to a human And human behaviour Be ready, be ready to get confused There’s definitely, definitely, definitely no logic To human behaviour, to human behaviour, to human behaviour Be ready, be ready to get confused Oh And there is no map
Here is what Bjork has to say about Human Behaviour. “After The Sugarcubes, I guess I had a mixture of liberation and fear. It had been obvious for a while in the band that I had different tastes than the rest. That’s fair enough – there’s no such thing as correct taste. I wrote the melody for “Human Behaviour” as a kid. A lot of the melodies on Debut I wrote as a teenager and put aside because I was in punk bands and they weren’t punk. The lyric is almost like a child’s point of view and the video that I did with Michel Gondry was based on childhood memories.”
The song was inspired by David Attenborough documentaries and by the relation between humans and animals. Björk explained to Rolling Stone, talking about the inspiration for the song: “‘Human Behaviour’ is an animal’s point of view on humans. And the animals are definitely supposed to win in the end.” On a recent question and answer session with fans on The Guardian website, Björk revealed more information about the writing of the song: “I wrote it I was referring to my childhood and probably talking about how I felt more comfortable on my own walking outside singing and stuff than hanging out with humans…” The song was also inspired by the riff from Ray Brown Orchestra’s “Go Down Dying”.
This is the first song on the “Isobel song cycle”, a transcendental cycle in Björk’s discography which goes from “Human Behaviour” to “Wanderlust” (2007). The B-side contained in the cassette edition of the single is the reggae-influenced “Atlantic”, which was produced and written by Björk. Its lyrics talks about Björk’s family: “My son has eight grandmothers and eight grandfathers and it’s about the love and the complications of that”. Wiki information.
Okay that’s me and I hope I am not cheating! I love Bjork and I get the feeling all of her songs have very deep meanings about Human Behaviour.
This week Jilly shares one of favourite photos with us for her Friday Haiku Challenge. She shares her thoughts on why it’s special to her. Telling us of it family connection for her. Here’s her explanation.
“Ceiling in the Majestic Theater. Date unknown. I retake this picture every time I attend an event there. I am nothing if not predictable. B’s uncles re-did the plasterwork in this building in the 60s. B did a little bit of work himself in the apartments over the theater in the 80s. Not many people left who can plaster old school ornate.”
Autumn Annie 🍁🍂 is so dismayed Summer Suzie wants to stay All of nature is upside down Gaia nonplussed wears a frown.
Verdant fields, dried to a crisp Harvest silted, sun too hot Parched earth , dust devils, dance in wisps. Where is our Autumn 🍂 🍁 Annie
We can only hope Autumn 🍂🍁 will come again.
We may not have it as bad as other countries.. but wildfires are happening in the UK. .. Berkshire, Oxford,Surrey, Hampshire,Wales, Scotland and Ireland.
You have reached a quiet bamboo grove, where you will find an eclectic mix of nature, music, writing, and other creative arts. Tao-Talk is curated by a philosophical daoist who has thrown the net away.
Welcome to my “Heartland Echoes,” where I aim to share my poems with the world, along with my survival story and autobiography of childhood abuse, motivational quotes, and much more. Through my words, I hope to inspire others to share their own stories and experiences. Each poem is a piece of my heart and soul, along with a story of a traumatic past, crafted with inspiration, Hope, faith, love and passion. I believe that by sharing our art and emotions, I’ll be able to connect with others on a deeper level and create a sense of community.
willowdot21 