The Argument
by Maryann
My words buck at such a structure
I argue, fight with myself.
I read and read the examples,
pull out pen and paper. Yet
I cannot write a villanelle.
Mere doodles end up on the page
Where words should appear and flow
I argue, fight with myself.
I feel backed into a corner.
I cannot run and hide. Yet
even with the pressure,
I cannot write a villanelle.
So I shall put my arguments
down, and hope this will suffice.
I cannot write a villanelle
And tire of arguing, fighting with myself.
This poem was published in the Hawaiʻi Review Editor's Blog as part of an e-chapbook entitled WHEA YOU FROM…WHEA YOU GOING, which was produced by the residents of TJ Mahoney & Associates, a community reentry program in Honolulu.
Maryann was born in Phoenix, Arizona--a child of the desert now transplanted in paradise. She is from years behind razor wire with few outlets of expression, save for writing. She is a resident at Ka Hale Hōala Hou No Nā Wahine, a residential facility for women making the successful transition from prison back to our communities. Her dream is to continue sharing her thoughts and stories, and to reach far and wide.
Song of Patience
by Vivekanand Jha
Sing a song of glee
Even in the hours of grief
Even iron-tree would turn green
Even stony soul would melt like wax.
Live a life of contentment and peace
Prosperity will knock at your door
Opportunity will peep through your window
Flower and fruit of success
Would bloom even in bald courtyard.
Tread the track of truth
Like soldiers march in step
Follow the sayer of sooth
Like shadow to you
Even from soil of sterile
Sun flower would sprout.
Remember when, how
or what you sweat
that pays prize sooner or late
Your eyes would forget
Last time when they had shed tears,
Sigh would fail to remember
When it breathed a relief out of fears.
Learn the lessons of morals
Forget how to sit on laurels
If such be belief of every individual
There will be none orphan or single.
Kingdom of peace and
empire of tolerance
Would be reinstated
No room would remain
for repulsion and reprisal.
Dr. Vivekanand Jha is a translator, editor, and award winning poet from India. He is a contributing poet to Wavelengths: 2011 Savant Anthology of Poetry which has won first place in the 2011 London Book Festival. He is the author of five books of poetry. He has also authored one critical book on the poetry of Jayanta Mahapatra and edited two critical anthologies on Indian English Novels. He is son of noted professor, poet, and award winning translator Dr. Rajanand Jha.
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