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79th Virtual Poetry Circle

Welcome to the 79th Virtual Poetry Circle!

Remember, this is just for fun and is not meant to be stressful.

Keep in mind what Molly Peacock’s books suggested. Look at a line, a stanza, sentences, and images; describe what you like or don’t like; and offer an opinion. If you missed my review of her book, check it out here.

It’s a new year, and if you haven’t heard there is a new feature on the blog this year . . . my first ever, poetry reading challenge.  Yup, that means everyone should be signing up because all you need to do is read 1 book of poetry, and why not start with the contemporary poet featured today?!

Today, we’re going to take a look at a poem from Sweta Srivastava Vikram‘s latest collection, Kaleidoscope:  An Asian Journey of Colors:

I Am Cleopatra

My teacher thinks I have fangs
that dart out words at victims,
slobber my venom over them
and break their spirit —
an anaconda mutilates a rabbit.

My sister says I scare the mirror
with my own reflection. Stupid slut,
she said. I growl until my face
changes colors but hurt remains.
I wipe my tearstains alone.

My parents think I am a dead body
of metallic perforations drowning
in the sea of my idiocy. I should earn
a purple heart for surviving the war
in my family. What can I say?
At teenage, sarcasm doesn’t come free.

I embody the flavors of Cleopatra.
How difficult is that to remember?
Should I soak twenty thousand
Purpura snails to get an ounce
of Tyrian purple to flaunt my charm
and get your unbiased attention?
I like purple, but I do no harm.

Let me know your thoughts, ideas, feelings, impressions.  Let’s have a great discussion…pick a line, pick an image, pick a sentence.

I’ve you missed the other Virtual Poetry Circles.  It’s never too late to join the discussion.

Comments

  1. Interesting impressions of Cleopatra. I especially like the line “My sister says I scare the mirror/with my own reflection.” LOL

    • I think its interesting how much violence is in the beginning lines of this poem, and yet this strong woman that can be violent has tears and seems vulnerable in some of the other lines…she’s a puzzle.