Today my husband told me
I must know the ABCs of poetry.
”Take it seriously”, he said
It’s no longer A for Apple, B for Ball, and C for Cool
Now it’s a game of AABBCC and ABABAB,
Alphabets will stay closer together.
Do you know sounds will matter too?
Now your Eureka will be
When you manage
To rhyme haste with death
Days of hat-cat, bat-mat are gone.
Know that!
Make it a habit to read one poem daily,
And when you read, read to grasp ideas
Forget building castles out of somebody else’s pillars;
You’re a gardener, your job is to grow flowers
Don’t be a 5-year-old who plucks them for momentary fun.
Look for inspiration around you
Stand near a chair,
Learn why one of its feet reclines towards another,
Is it in pain?
Is it asking for some help?
Go closer, listen to its tuneful whispers,
How is that blue fan doing?
Look at its wings, are they slow? are they rusty?
Talk to them,
Ask if they’re in trouble.
The three-door wooden almirah of yours
Never says a word, never moves an inch,
Is it depressed? does it need an arm to fall on?
Be a good friend, provide her comfort
Check your pillow, don’t just lay your head on it.
Caress it lightly, kiss the cotton filled inside,
It too needs a touch of love.
And once you learn to befriend each of them,
Write a poem
But remember to never share their secrets
Allude to them, yes, but don’t craft a poem at their expense.
Be a poet of generations,
not a thief of passion.
Fizza Abbas is a writer based in Karachi, Pakistan. She is fond of poetry and music. Her work has appeared in more than 85 journals, both online and in print. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Beltway Poetry Quarterly, Poetry Village, The Cabinet of Heed, Petrichor, Riggwelter Press, Poetry Pacific, The Stone of Madness Press, Better than Starbucks, Serotonin, Versification, One Hand Clapping Magazine, London Grip and elsewhere. Her first chapbook, Ool Jalool has been released from Fahmidan Journal in May 2021 and second one (Bakho) is on the way. Besides writing, she also runs an interview series for writers on YouTube. She can be reached at @fizzawrites on Twitter.