Breaking everything #NaPoWriMo23

photo taken in Spring' 22 in Istanbul.

Hello Readers,

April arrived in the middle of home renovations and work-related travel. I was quite sure of not reaching my favourite space (i.e. the blogging world) at all this month but when the Day 1 prompt of #NaPoWriMo23 prodded to me to go-on-give-it-a-go, I accepted his annual ritual gleefully. 

But Day 2 stumped me. I didn't write a word. I could have but I chose to finish the day with a glass of red instead; watching home renovation programmes on a loop with my daughter. We loved it.

Here we are on Day 3. Birmingham sun is falling in big, warm squares on the wooden floor of my daughter's flat. I'll be making my way back home in a couple of hours. There's a train ride followed by a flight on the day's horizon. But for now there is e.e. cummings.

Two days ago, while browsing in the Oxfam book shop, I chanced upon a book of 'selected poems' by e.e. cummings. This poem (untitled, of course) fits in perfectly with the Day 3 prompt which encourages the poet to "Find a shortish poem that you like, and rewrite each line, replacing each word (or as many words as you can) with words that mean the opposite... (It’s sort of like taking a radio apart and putting it back together, but for poetry)."

Winter is like a sure foot

(which comes carelessly

out of Somewhere) scattering 

a window, out of  which people look (while

people stare

disarranging and unchanging placing

carelessly there a known

thing and a strange thing here) and

unchanging nothing carelessly

winter is unlike a perhaps

Hand in a window

(carelessly to

and fro keeping Old and

New things, while

people stare with little care

holding on to a perhaps

fraction of flower there placing

a pillar of earth there) and

without healing anything.

The original poem by e.e. cummings:

Spring is like a perhaps hand

(which comes carefully

out of Nowhere) arranging 

a window, into which people look (while

people stare

arranging and changing placing

carefully there a strange

thing and a known thing here) and 

changing everything carefully

spring is like a perhaps

Hand in  a window

(carefully to

and fro moving New and 

Old things, while

people stare carefully

moving a perhaps

fraction of flower here placing

an inch of air there) and

without breaking anything.

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Thank you for visiting my blog on Day 1 and for leaving your wonderful comments. I'll be visiting your spaces as soon as I'm back home -- I promise:)