This time of the year means we are celebrating the dead, and for me, it hits closer to home this year with my mom’s passing earlier this month (on October 7th). While I know that her death meant an end to her pain and suffering from cancer, especially in the last few weeks, I also know I can no longer pick up the phone to talk to her. And even so many days later, I am unable to shake that urge to do so. My days feel incomplete, like I left something crucial undone each day without talking to her. But I know time helps, a bit, like I don’t myself weeping every time a favorite song of my dad’s plays on the radio (just once in every few times now).

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Poetic Sundays: Monody

The Monody is my choice for form this week. It will become obvious why when you read about it.

What is the Monody?

A monody is a poem of lament and grief, written by one person. It is characterized by its solitary and emotionally expressive nature. It is a type of lyric poem that typically conveys deep and often melancholic emotions, such as grief, sorrow, or personal reflection. The term “monody” is derived from the Greek words “monos” (alone) and “ode” (song), highlighting its focus on individual expression.

The Monody’s Characteristics

So the monody’s elements are that at its most basic, it is:

• themed: a poem of grief or personal reflection, written by one person in memory of another person
• free of rules of rhyme or meter: while there are no specific rules for rhyme or meter for a monody, you can choose to write it in the same way elegies are written: in quatrains (4 line stanzas) employing an ABAB rhyme scheme and in iambic pentameter (10 syllables where stressed syllables alternate with unstressed ones) or not!

My Monody (a first attempt)

Moms and Daughters
I pick up the phone to make a call
My usual one to mom, you see
And then realize I can’t do it after all
Since mom has said her last good bye to me.

Now whom do I say hello amma to each day
Who will know how I am feeling instantly
~ through my voice ~ no matter what I actually say
No matter what my words convey or be.

Looking back at those last few weeks
I marvel at that immense strength she had within
While cancer ravaged her and left her body so weak
Somehow she managed to let her strong spirit win.

So maybe my answer to my questions above lie within
To muster my strength of spirit and of body as well
To have conversations with mom through paper and pen
To be the one who hears what my children’s voices tell.

So I pick up the phone to make a call
My usual one to my children, you see
Realize I can do this after all
And make my mama proud of me.
~ Vidya Tiru @ LadInReadWrites

Recently

On My Blog And the Homefront

• What Remains is Beautiful Always
• Sunday Scribblings #162: The Power of a Simple Love Note (from a long time ago)

A whole month went by before I returned here to my blog, and for those who have seen my FB post, you know why I have been away. As I mentioned earlier in my post, my mom passed away after over a year-long battle with cancer on the 7th of October. My thank you to all of you who reached out to us with messages of strength and support and condolences. Your words helped – so much.

I was glad I could spend time with her in her last few weeks, and being next to her gave me comfort and strength in its own way. After we performed the last rites and rituals (for 13 days according to our traditions), I stayed on for a few more days to connect with friends with family before returning to the US last Friday.

Regarding when I returned, it should have been last Thursday evening but our flight ended up getting delayed by 6 hours!! On the upside, I made that many new friends as we bonded our flight delays and more…. Now, at least three of us plan to meet up once in a while (not in airports!).

Upcoming

On My Blog and On the Homefront

Planning how I get back to routines overall..

Celebrations

Literary Celebrations (close-to-it also!)

• Literary birthdays this week include: Ezra Pound on the 30th of October; John Keats on Oct 31; Stephen Crane on the 1st of Nov; Joyce Maynard on the 5th of Nov
• October 31st is Books for Treats Day…
• November is a month for lots of literary celebrations!! It is Family Stories Month, National Life Writing Month, National Family Literacy Month, and of course NaNoWriMo or National Novel Writing Month!
• It is also National Authors Day and National Family Literacy Day on Nov 1st
• Nov 3rd is Fountain Pen Day

Foodie Celebrations

• The 30th of October happens to be Candy Corn Day (though I never got around to becoming a fan of this Halloween treat for some reason, except for decor!)
• October 31st is National Caramel Apple Day
• Followed by National Calzone Day, National Cinnamon Day, and World Vegan Day on the 1st of November
• National Deviled Egg Day is on the 2nd of November
• While Nov 3rd is National Sandwich Day
• It is National Candy Day on the 4th of November
• More treats follow with National Doughnut Day on the 5th
• and National Nachos Day on the 6th

Note: for any excess Halloween candy that you have no idea what to do with, check out Treats for Troops (this is for the US but I am sure there are similar efforts in other countries too)

Other Celebrations and Observations

• The 30th of October is Create a Great Funeral Day. Given we went through the last rites and rituals for my mom recently, I can relate to knowing what someone might have wanted for their funeral. Apparently, it is also National Checklist Day (for all of you who love ticking off items on your lists, like I do, every so often!)
• October 31st is Halloween. It is also Books for Treats Day as I mentioned earlier, as well as Girl Scout Founder’s Day, World Cities Day, and World Savings Day
• Extra Mile Day on November 1 inspires and reminds us to work on becoming better versions of ourselves
• National Stress Awareness Day is on the first Wednesday in November
• November 1 through the 2nd is for the Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico.
• The 2nd is also Be the Impact Day, so go ahead and make a difference
• Something we all need to do everyday, it is Use Your Common Sense Day on November 4!
• And National Bison Day is celebrated on the first Saturday in November (The American Bison is the National Animal of the USA)

Wrapped Up: My Sunday Scribblings

So dear reader, you have reached the end of this Sunday Scribblings! As always, I welcome your thoughts, comments, and suggestions about this post. Will you be attempting to write the monody? And, of course, do let me know if you plan to celebrate any of these mentioned celebrations this coming week/month?

Linking this to the Sunday Post over at the Caffeinated Reviewer and the Sunday Salon. And for Day 29 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge (for me, it is the first day posting though)