A Great Online Poetry Workshop
I was looking for poem ideas recently, and had kind of hit a writer’s block. I stumbled across a great course: Sharpened Visions- An Online Poetry Workshop on Coursera run by the California Institute of Arts. Each week we explored new topics that helped us hone our skills as poets, and I was especially taken with the session about metaphors.
Metaphors About Life
During a session, we explored the use of metaphor in poetry and delved into the work of Victor Hernandez Cruz, a renowned Puerto Rican poet. The focus was on his poem “Red Beans” from his collection Maraca, which features selected poems published between 1965 and 2000. The discussion highlighted how Cruz’s Puerto Rican identity influenced the poem. The facilitator pointed out that the title of the poem and the first line were interconnected and worked together, emphasizing the importance of paying attention to these details when analyzing poetry, and how metaphors about life can truly be powerful.
Life Metaphor Poems: Soft as Diamonds
Without further ado, this was the poem that I wrote for that session, entitled Soft as Diamonds
He held her hand and she remarked at the sparkle of the ring,
the softness of love as a token of their forever,
while the hardness of the toil to uncover that very thing,
the miners spilt blood in their endeavour
Her voice in happiness was a brush of feathers
that tickled his ear and his heart
Little to no thought of the tethers
the rest of their future would impart
The blood that was spilt was ruby red
The stone it shone with a glimmering light
The couple decided to happy wed
While bodies piled into the night
What was your interpretation of the poem? Leave a comment below and let me know! Do you have any poem ideas you want to give me- write those as well!
To read more of my poems click here. To buy a copy of my poetry book Disasterpiece on Amazon go here or on Flipkart, here. To buy the digital version click here.
This blog post is part of the blog challenge ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla in collaboration with Mads’ Cookhouse.
These two lines did it for me, Meetali..The blood that was spilt was ruby red
The stone it shone with glimmering light. Such powerful words and metaphors. I could almost see blood. Was it the miners’ bodies? While they happily wed?
Thanks so much for the kind words! Yes, the poem is a play on the devastation miners face while for the ones who buy the stones, they are symbolic of pure bliss
“Her voice of happiness that brush of feathers, tickle his ears, I can feel this line as it is meant to me. Love love the way you pen down. I read only 3 or 4 poem of yours and I like it. I didnt know you have books too. Surely love to read. I think I can learn lots from you. Currently I wrote 2 poem – in Hindi.. Small and soft. So would love to read your books.
Thanks so much! Yes I just wrote a poetry book 🙂 Would love to read your poetry as well
This poem got me wondering whether we should wear gems or not, should we really use metal stuff or not. It’s all seeped in someone’s sweat, but then life is all about sweating in our own ways.
I think the point of this was to elicit that whole thought process so I’m glad it worked!
A harsh and true account of the stones we love to flaunt. Your poem depicted that the struggles of one are the pleasure of others. ‘blood red’, I’ll probably never be able to look at diamonds the same way. Beautiful poem.
Ah…how subtly you have brought in the sufferings that we are oblivious of when we celebrate. In a few lines, you have made a profound statement!
Soft diamonds. An oxymoron in itself. I mean diamonds are the hardest substance known. Beautiful lines of the poem. The last one …bodies piled at night sent me pondering.
Diamonds we call as a woman’s first love but is that worthy enough to compare our life…
Little to no thought of the tethers
the rest of their future would impart
The blood that was spilt was ruby red
The stone it shone with a glimmering light
My heart can feel every word of the poem… what a brilliant presentation of poetic words which will make each one of us think again…. I cant explain how happy I am when I came across the work of a poetess like you. will love to read more.
I hope Im getting this right,
We celebrate moments of love with a diamond ring however the hard work put to get the diamond makes the ring is never thought of.
I might sound rude the diamond ring of love was made with pain and how can we celebrate with something that is brought up with so much pain and hard work.
Im sorry if I sound off track this was just my opinion/interpretation on the poem
Yes, the whole point of the poem is that what to some people is a privilege can often be the source of great pain or hurt for others, so we need to really analyze situations
Your poem showed two sides of the coin. The happiness of getting proposed and getting the ring for the couple and the blood spilled for making that ring. Absolute contrast of two phases.
First of all, I applaud you for taking action instead of letting procrastination let you down when you found yourself hitting writer’s block. Going through a course isn’t for everyone yet you’ve chosen to go through that. I must be honest as a person who’s not a poem fan, this was my cup of tea. Keep writing =)
He held her hand and the way she looked at the ring was something I really felt happening in front of me. Also, the mention of blood and glimmer gave me that vibes of some happening of an event all of a sudden. Metaphor is not very easy to use, but you excelled.
Although the lines are few, you have managed to convey the message really well Meetali. the sparkle of the gem hides every dark thing about it. and i dont think anyone after seeing the diamond or possessing one even thinks about the miners who get that sparkle into our lives by paying with their blood.
Lovely piece❤
Beautiful poem. The sparkle of rubies and diamonds has behind it the blood and sweat of the miners. I loved the title too.
Congratulations on your book, Meetali. I didn’t know you were an author too. Loved the poem and the metaphor. The sad reality of life. I am not a writer but am quite intrigued by the poetry course too.
First, I would like to congratulate you on your book, Mitali. Beautiful poem . Even with just a few lines, you manage to get your point across brilliantly. Love the title too.
Though I am a eng lit student, I have never attempted poetry. Pleasantly surprised that there are online courses to get one started off.
You poem is beautiful and reminds me of the movie Blood Diamond. One never realises the tears and blood behind the beautiful stones. The title in itself in a wonderful juxtaposition as diamonds and softness are not used together often
I am not very good with poems, but I read the comments and I am happy to learn that I did make the correct guess. I guess that is a sign of good art; it does not confuse you.
OMG how powerful the words are. I loved the way you narrated the poem and how deep the meaning is especially “The couple decided to happy wed While bodies piled into the night” these lines give me goosbumps.
So poetically but bluntly you’ve shown how little we care for the toil of others as long as we get to see the beautiful side of things. Well written!
Wow, Meetali, your poem is so thought provoking! The metaphor implied has so many meanings pertaining to our daily lives. Right from the milk we drink to the food that we eat and clothes we wear or the things we use in our daily lives are all the swet and blood of another living soul. Never do we acknowledge it and whine & complain if things don’t seem as we expected.
We like to flaunt many things in life and stones are one such. Your works are so provoking! We usually don’t appreciate things that work but have a statement ready for things that did not work.
Both planned to have a life together but unfortunately met in immoral world is my interpretation right of your poem? Let me know.
Blood diamonds! Very powerful imagery. I’ve read this one earlier – it’s in your book right?
Hey, no this isn’t in the book. Just wrote it for the course