Indrani Perera

poet, publisher & mentor

Tag: #livepoetsclub

Poetry Challenge – Week Thirty-Three

Week 33 words from @emiliecollyer: cinnamon, ache, yesterday, fossil and tongue.

I've papered over the ache

with distractions and distance

sunshine searing my cinnamon skin

humidity gulping my moisture

I'm leagues from home

but the glue is still wet

and the discordance of yesterday

bubbles to the surface

I bury my grief deep in the sand

to harden and turn into a fossil

but it's sharp and spiky

and stabs me in the foot

with the spines of a sea urchin

salt on my tongue

~~~~

Here are the words and my poem for the thirty-third week of the 2019 Poetry Challenge.

It's been an eventful couple of weeks here in the tropical island paradise of Bali. Like all holidays, it hasn't quite gone according to plan and an extremely bad case of sunburn hampered my goal of having a massage every second day. However, these are minor inconveniences when you consider I am oceans from home and soaking up the sun instead of hugging the heater. And at least I managed to fit it into my poem!

If you want to join the 2019 Poetry Challenge, head on over to my Instagram account (@indraniperera) where I post the words for the week on Mondays (mostly) in my story. Write a poem and post it. Be sure to tag me and use the hashtags #2019poetrychallenge and #livepoetsclub.

If you don't want to write a poem, you can still be part of the 2019 Poetry Challenge. Send me five random words and I'll use them in a poem. Either DM me on Instagram with the words or send me an email (indrani at indraniperera dot com).

Happy writing!

August 23, 2019
Poetry Challenge – Week Thirty-Two

Week 32 words from @daia_gaia: belly, sacred ground, bones, truth and play.

how can I play

when not all truth

can be gleaned

from bleached bones

scattered over sacred ground

how can I rest

when not all lies

can be stomached

by belly distended

from false hope

and imperfect dreams

how?

~~~~

Here are the words and my poem for the thirty-second week of the 2019 Poetry Challenge.

When I first got these words I was really excited by their potential and the possibility that I might, just might, write a longer poem this week. Well I tried and had several goes but the poem is still fairly short I'm afraid. I'm actually on holiday in Bali at the moment so I've been a little distracted by the blue skies, warm weather and pool just outside my hotel room door. Perhaps next week?

If you want to join the 2019 Poetry Challenge, head on over to my Instagram account (@indraniperera) where I post the words for the week on Mondays (mostly) in my story. Write a poem and post it. Be sure to tag me and use the hashtags #2019poetrychallenge and #livepoetsclub.

If you don't want to write a poem, you can still be part of the 2019 Poetry Challenge. Send me five random words and I'll use them in a poem. Either DM me on Instagram with the words or send me an email (indrani at indraniperera dot com).

Happy writing!

August 16, 2019
Poetry Challenge – Week Thirty-One

Week 31 words from @our_sacred_ordinary: endless, perspective, womb, distant and relationship.

shift your perspective

from all your endless tasks

to the present moment

and your relationship

with authenticity

hold out your tongue

and taste the air

open your ears

and hear the earth

turn your distant longing

into a womb

and nurture hope

~~~~

Here are the words and my poem for the thirty-first week of the 2019 Poetry Challenge.

As I sat down with this week's words to write a poem, I tapped into how I was feeling and what I might want to say / share. As I put pen to paper I started to feel stressed about getting it 'right'. I managed to realise what I was doing and reminded myself to enjoy the process of creating the poem rather than trying to force the result or rush the process. Changing my perspective made writing this poem fun.

If you want to join the 2019 Poetry Challenge, head on over to my Instagram account (@indraniperera) where I post the words for the week on Mondays (mostly) in my story. Write a poem and post it. Be sure to tag me and use the hashtags #2019poetrychallenge and #livepoetsclub.

If you don't want to write a poem, you can still be part of the 2019 Poetry Challenge. Send me five random words and I'll use them in a poem. Either DM me on Instagram with the words or send me an email (indrani at indraniperera dot com).

Happy writing!

August 9, 2019
Poetry Challenge – Week Thirty

Week 30 words from @marymoorkens: honest, guide, sunlight, silence and relationship.

If I'm honest

completely honest with you

(and myself)

I don't feel like a dance in sunlight

or a laugh in the park

I feel leaden and lumpish

solemn and heavy

I'd love to write you

a tender, heart-warming

and inspiring poem

and guide you

to the beauty within us all

but all I have today

is silence

~~~~

Here are the words and my poem for the thirtieth week of the 2019 Poetry Challenge.

The last few weeks have been huge. I'm still in recovery mode after all the incredible and inspiring poetry and spoken word of the Melbourne Spoken Word and Poetry festival. I've attended incredible workshops, gone to amazing gigs, been a featured artist and met so many wonderful poets. My brain is whirring with sounds, ideas, images and words.

And slowly around the edges of all the goodness, grief has been weaving its way into the corners of my life, steadily growing and filling every space until my words evaporate, dissipate and crumble. Hard as it is for me to believe, sometimes there are no words left to speak or to write.

If you want to join the 2019 Poetry Challenge, head on over to my Instagram account (@indraniperera) where I post the words for the week on Mondays (mostly) in my story. Write a poem and post it. Be sure to tag me and use the hashtags #2019poetrychallenge and #livepoetsclub.

If you don't want to write a poem, you can still be part of the 2019 Poetry Challenge. Send me five random words and I'll use them in a poem. Either DM me on Instagram with the words or send me an email (indrani at indraniperera dot com).

Happy writing!

August 2, 2019
Poetry Challenge – Week Twenty-Nine

Week 29 words from @nathalie.leriche.art: forgiveness, self worth, love, believe and faith.

believe in yourself

have faith in your magnificence

hold fast to your strength

love all that you are

protect all you can be

cloak yourself in forgiveness

be tender with your doubt

and only measure your self worth

by what you know to be true

~~~~

Here are the words and my poem for the twenty-ninth week of the 2019 Poetry Challenge.

This poem took me a couple of attempts to write. I was starting to feel frustrated at it not turning out quite how I wanted. I was looking for something affirming and positive and wasn't quite getting there. And then I reminded myself to enjoy the process of writing it, rather than rushing to the end result. Rushing would be a little like trying to feel full and skipping the whole delicious meal sitting in front of you.

I'm feeling very inspired by all the amazing poetry gigs and workshops I've been attending as part of the 2019 Melbourne Spoken Word and Poetry Festival. If you haven't checked it out yet, there's still a heap of amazing events happening this weekend. The line-up for the closing night on Sunday is huge. I can't wait! See you there?

If you want to join the 2019 Poetry Challenge, head on over to my Instagram account (@indraniperera) where I post the words for the week on Mondays (mostly) in my story. Write a poem and post it. Be sure to tag me and use the hashtags #2019poetrychallenge and #livepoetsclub.

If you don't want to write a poem, you can still be part of the 2019 Poetry Challenge. Send me five random words and I'll use them in a poem. Either DM me on Instagram with the words or send me an email (indrani at indraniperera dot com).

Happy writing!

July 26, 2019
Poetry Challenge – Week Twenty-Eight

Week 28 words from @freerthinking: silently, cacophony, compassion, flourish and noble.

silently flourish

amid the cacophony

of negativity and doubt

and show compassion

to your noble self

~~~~

Here are the words and my poem for the twenty-eighth week of the 2019 Poetry Challenge.

This one was fun. I had all but one line done really fast. I set the poem aside during the week, busy with other things (namely all the cool stuff happening at the Melbourne Spoken Word & Poetry Festival) and then when I came back to it, the last line slotted neatly into place. If only all poems were this easy to write!

If you want to join the 2019 Poetry Challenge, head on over to my Instagram account (@indraniperera) where I post the words for the week on Mondays (mostly) in my story. Write a poem and post it. Be sure to tag me and use the hashtags #2019poetrychallenge and #livepoetsclub.

If you don't want to write a poem, you can still be part of the 2019 Poetry Challenge. Send me five random words and I'll use them in a poem. Either DM me on Instagram with the words or send me an email (indrani at indraniperera dot com).

Happy writing!

July 19, 2019
Poetry Challenge – Week Twenty-Seven

Week 27 words from @angelaeldering: sunshine, hope, joy, horizon and water.

I know

there's sunshine and joy

on the horizon

I just hope

I can navigate

this dark water

~~~~

Here are the words and my poem for the twenty-seventh week of the 2019 Poetry Challenge.

It took me a little while to get my head around where this poem was going. I had a few attempts at getting something on the page. It was only when I tapped into how I was feeling that the words came.

If you want to join the 2019 Poetry Challenge, head on over to my Instagram account (@indraniperera) where I post the words for the week on Mondays (mostly) in my story. Write a poem and post it. Be sure to tag me and use the hashtags #2019poetrychallenge and #livepoetsclub.

If you don't want to write a poem, you can still be part of the 2019 Poetry Challenge. Send me five random words and I'll use them in a poem. Either DM me on Instagram with the words or send me an email (indrani at indraniperera dot com).

Happy writing!

July 12, 2019
Poetry Challenge – Week Twenty-Six

Week 26 words from @ceresmakersandfleamarket: help, enrich, confidence, battle and intuition.

the still, silent ocean

glazed scarlet

by the setting sun

a catalyst for regret to stalk

through the echoing chambers

of my scrofulous heart

moonlight falls on memory

throwing dream into shadow

~~~~

Here are the words and my poem for the twenty-sixth week of the 2019 Poetry Challenge.

I'm so excited to have made it half way through the year :o) And I've managed to write twenty-six poems. YAY! A big thank you to all the beautiful people who've collaborated and sent me words to use. It's been fun working with different words and learning new ones like scrofulous. Doesn't it sound wonderful? I was imagining a small, scruffy dog when I first read it but it turns out to mean historical!

If you want to join the 2019 Poetry Challenge, head on over to my Instagram account (@indraniperera) where I post the words for the week on Mondays (mostly) in my story. Write a poem and post it. Be sure to tag me and use the hashtags #2019poetrychallenge and #livepoetsclub.

If you don't want to write a poem, you can still be part of the 2019 Poetry Challenge. Send me five random words and I'll use them in a poem. Either DM me on Instagram with the words or send me an email (indrani at indraniperera dot com).

Happy writing!

July 5, 2019
Poetry Challenge – Week Twenty-Five

Week 25 words from @kritsinolds: help, enrich, confidence, battle and intuition.

seek help and enrich your soul

a battle with your intuition

only results in a loss

of confidence

~~~~

Here are the words and my poem for the twenty-fifth week of the 2019 Poetry Challenge.

This week's poem surprised me by being very short and not at all what I expected to write. Sometimes I sit down with an idea on my head but for some reason it just won't translate into words. Creativity is a funny beast.

If you want to join the 2019 Poetry Challenge, head on over to my Instagram account (@indraniperera) where I post the words for the week on Mondays (mostly) in my story. Write a poem and post it. Be sure to tag me and use the hashtags #2019poetrychallenge and #livepoetsclub.

If you don't want to write a poem, you can still be part of the 2019 Poetry Challenge. Send me five random words and I'll use them in a poem. Either DM me on Instagram with the words or send me an email (indrani at indraniperera dot com).

Happy writing!

June 28, 2019
Poetry Challenge – Week Twenty-Four

Week 24 words from @monasterie: breathe, vulnerable, wild, future and explosion.

breathe

breathe deep

into your vulnerable self

rock on your heels

wail at the sky

run fingernails down

your porcelain cheeks

and tear out your hair

in this explosion of wild grief

claim your future self

~~~~

Here are the words and my poem for the twenty-fourth week of the 2019 Poetry Challenge.

Sometimes there are no words but the words themselves.

If you want to join the 2019 Poetry Challenge, head on over to my Instagram account (@indraniperera) where I post the words for the week on Mondays (mostly) in my story. Write a poem and post it. Be sure to tag me and use the hashtags #2019poetrychallenge and #livepoetsclub.

If you don't want to write a poem, you can still be part of the 2019 Poetry Challenge. Send me five random words and I'll use them in a poem. Either DM me on Instagram with the words or send me an email (indrani at indraniperera dot com).

Happy writing!

June 21, 2019