The Purely Hopeful, or: Creativity verses form

Sangeetha & David’s new poetry project

Once upon a time, two poets who’d never met in person began writing verses back and forth over the Internet. Their first project took them some nine months: a 100 verse Hyakuin.

Once they’d completed their first oeuvre, they decided to continue their journey together; and Sangeetha came up with a fun idea. Beginning in January ’22, they took turns selecting poetic forms beginning with the letters of the alphabet (A through Z) and wrote poems to one another using those forms.

Upon completing that second project, Sangeetha suggested that they go through the alphabet once more, this time with an addition twist… In their new series, for every letter of the alphabet (A through Z), the two would select not only a poetic form but also – a keyword for each poem.

For ‘P’, Sangeetha selected the ‘Purely Hopeful’ form and the keyword ‘Poetry’.

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P: Purely Hopeful

Sangeetha’s Purely Hopeful

Poetic heartbeats alliterate
Syncing syllables on the go 
Thoughts begin to tessellate
When words begin to flow
Lyrical lines interlace 
Fingers of yet unspoken ties
And smile at a sudden turn of phrase
Pensive pearls of lone letters amaze
Evoking infinite surprise
Minting moments for new days
Sublime sentiments sing
Silence between lines lifts souls
For beauty that life and love bring
Poetry is the one truth that holds

David’s Purely Hopeful

My drive to compose oft wears me down;
I rhyme of sheer desperation;
In verbs, participles, nouns-
I seek consolation;
At times, words do not soothe much,
Still I make myself stick to it;
Else, I find it hard to breathe, as such-
And left to wonder if I'm just touched...
Versing's sheer relief and through it-
I've whittled this unseen crutch;
Penning lines makes me feel-
That I have what to offer;
In making fantasies seem real-
I think myself somewhat an author.

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Purely Hopeful?

• A fourteen line poem;
• Syllabic: 9/8/7/6 / 7/8/9/ / 9/8/7 / 6/7/8/9;
• Rhymed: a/b/a/b / c/d/c / c/d/c / e/f/e/f

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Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!