Writing

Poetry in a sad world

/ Noor Mahal / Leave a comment

I don’t know about you, but reading the news is depressing. I can’t help but think the world is getting darker. Wars and rumours of wars, girls in Afghanistan deprived of an education, storms a plenty with tons of rain and flooding and the passing of one of my favourite British poet is enough for me to feel gloomy, and that’s just mentioning a few of the issues the world is dealing with currently.

One meaning of the Arabic word for poetry – Sha’ara – is “to feel”. That is not just true but also beautiful. “Why write poetry in a burning world” is a poem by Katie Ferris that makes a good point: to train ourselves to find in the midst of hell, what isn’t hell.

So I put some soothing balm on my soul by writing a poem, which I would like to dedicate once again to all those going through the trauma of war and to the girls of Afghanistan deprived of a future because of the opression they live under.

May this poem bring you solace too.

Haiku

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I have developped a love for haiku, short poems that look so easy but are actually quite tricky to get right. I like using some of my photography to illustrate the haiku I write; photograpy and haiku were made for each other!

I’m still praticing and really need to hone my skills, but practice makes perfect, right?

I received the news this week that one of my haiku has been accepted for publication in the “The Best Haiku 2023 International Anthology” by HaikuCrush.com, which is very encouraging. I must be doing something right!

To celebrate, here is a selection of some of my more recent haiku.

Enjoy!

The year comes to an end

/ Noor Mahal / Leave a comment

Looking ahead, as 2023 comes to a close, I find it difficult to wish everyone a “Happy New Year”, as the year that is coming to an end has been filled with wars, conflicts, disasters and other sad news that have made 2023 a difficult year. Who knows what 2024 will bring?

Yet I try to be an optimist, because pessimissm is for lightweights according to one of my favourite poets.

I tried to put my mixed feelings about this year and the one just around the corner into a poem, which I hope you will enjoy.

I don’t know if my poem reflects hope for the times ahead, but I do wish you and your loved ones a peaceful Christmas if you are celebrating it, and wish you all a year 2024 filled with hope, health, and above all an end to the pain and suffering Man inflicts on its fellow human beings.

With love,

Noor

Footnote

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A short poem dedicated to all those suffering under the curse of war.

Forgotten is my past
A wisp of an existence
Glazed by an absence of future

Under the rubble of my life
No even a flower blooms
I am forsaken

My footprints erased
No memory left of me
Just a footnote in history

Poem by Noor Mahal

Time

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Creativity is low when work is overwhelming. No time to sing in the rain or for crucial things in life. It is what inspired the poem below.

It seems creativity will fight on, against all odds, always.

Haiku gems

/ Noor Mahal / Leave a comment

My latest endavours in poetry have been haikus. I have fallen in love with the art of writing these short little poems, and I have to admit that hey are harder to create than it appears. I have found it very soothing to use photos to illustrate them and have written some in French as well, it just depends which language inspires me the most at the time of writing.

All photographs are my own, which adds to the joy of creating beauty with just a few words.

Enjoy!