— Blogging, Current Events, Food, Lists, Writing —

Sunday Scribblings #35: In a Whirlpool of Emotions

June 1, 2020

I know it is not Sunday anymore, but this post took me longer than I thought. And while there was some of it I could have written in posts later this week, here it is anyway – better late than never. Being in a whirlpool of emotions did not help hasten the writing process in anyway. And life waits patiently too, as in lunches and dinners, laundry and dishes, AP exam help and end-of-school-year-tasks.

So much has happened these past few days over the current crisis everyone was already going through, and each and every one of us is feeling so many things. While I don’t know if I will be out on the street raising my voice in a peaceful protest, I know what I can do. I can raise my voice here via my blog, through the power of social media, and say #istandwithyou and say #blacklivesmatter.

As a brown skinned person myself, I do know that skin color has played a role in my life, one way or the other. While I am certainly fortunate that I did not face any outright racism in the Bay Area in the over-two decades I have called it home, there have been instances and incidents when we traveled elsewhere. Those stand out in my memory, because when each one happened, I always wondered, why? But I give thanks to all those many others in my life who see me, skin color included, and include me in their lives as simply one more person.

Sometimes you are a curiosity, which is OK by me. And when people ask me questions like, what is that dot on your forehead? or about cows on the street in India?, that is OK too; it is simple curiosity. At other times, you are an unknown, but I am not, right? I am as human as any other human, after all. Simply human. Only human.

sunday scribblings

Poetic Sundays

The Forms so Far

The ZaniLa

The ZaniLa has a beauty of its own; so while I don’t recall where I saw it first, I am glad I discovered it when I did. It is a modern form created by Laura Lamarca.

What is ZaniLa?

This form consists of a minimum of 3 stanzas with 4 lines per stanza. It has a rhyme scheme ab<c1c2>b (where c1c2 is the internal rhyme scheme for line 3), and syllable count of 9/7/9/9 for each stanza. Line 3 is repeated in every stanza (but swapped in the even stanzas).

So the ZaniLa’s characteristics:

  • 3 stanzas with 4 lines per stanza
  • abcb rhyme scheme; more specifically ab<c1c2>b rhyme scheme where the 3rd line has an internal rhyme.
  • 9–7–9–9 syllable count
  • Line 3 repeats in every stanza, but swapped in each following stanza (so odd stanzas have the same line 3, while even stanzas have the swapped line 3). Using an example from PoetsCollective: Odd stanzas have line 3 as Internal rhyme in this line this time; while even stanzas have In this line this time- internal rhyme
  • Check out Laura Lamarca’s beautiful ZaniLa here

My Example ZaniLa: We Are Humanity

We Are Humanity
That color of your skin, yes, that one
is only skin deep, you see
What matters is inside, what skin hide(s)
For within, I am you, you are me.
It’s blood and bones, when all’s said and done
Whether it be you or me
what skin hides; What matters is inside –
In our thoughts, our hearts, we’re simply we.
There’s a lot that remains to be done
By each one of us, by we;
What matters is inside, what skin hide(s)
And within, there is strength to succee(d).
Yes, a revolution has begun
To set prejudices free
That skin hides; what matters is inside
And inside we are humanity.
Vidya Tiru

Last Week

This past week has been a whirlpool of emotions as we watched the news. From being saddened and outraged over George Floyd’s death, and also having those same feelings watching the protests that got violent, to feeling heartened and encouraged by watching all the peaceful protests as well as seeing others clean up the aftermath of those protests, and feeling out-of-the-world (literally) as we watched the Dragon launch into space and dock onto the International Space Station. Yes, definitely a whirlpool of emotions.

On My Blog and Home-front

We are now in a week-long night-time curfew in our city as the mayor declared a ‘local emergency.’ So as we continue to shelter in place and follow the new rules set in place, I can only hope that we can lend our voices where we can, to say #WeAreInThisTogether and note that that means, the we includes every you and every me, no matter the color of our skin.

And as for things at home and on my blog, I managed a few posts though not what I had planned. Also, it looks like the DIY neem oil pesticide I talked about last week is helping my backyard garden – a bit. I never got around to any other challenge (as I had thought I should) this past week. But I did make some kulfi to beat the sudden heat wave we had here.

My Most Recent Posts

Posts from last week.

MyPhotoADay

Here are a few selections from my insta-feed this past week.

Upcoming

On My Blog and Home-front

Maybe those challenges I thought I will catch up on? But I do need to share some books I read so will be posting a couple of reviews, and maybe one recipe as well for the week.

And hope we can chalk the neighborhood sidewalks with hope and inspiration this week.

Elsewhere

While there were many articles and posts that resonated with me these last few days, sharing a few here today.

And you can have something nice to look forward to with these

Here are a couple of this week’s many celebrations:

Wrapping up my Sunday Scribblings

So dear reader, this was it for my Sunday Scribblings. I would love to hear your comments on my post and if you had any favorite from the posts this week. And which of these days do you plan to celebrate (or any other)? 

Linking this to the Sunday Post over at the Caffeinated Reviewer and the Sunday Salon.

“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” ― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom

2 thoughts on “Sunday Scribblings #35: In a Whirlpool of Emotions”

  1. I agree with you completely. It’s a terrible time. It seems like people seem to want someone weaker than they are to hurt. I was in despair on Sunday, but yesterday I spoke with my son in Chicago and he was feeling optimistic about the number of young people speaking out against wrongs done, and that lifted me up, too. It is difficult to know what to do. I tried to do several small things yesterday, none of which directly affect the situation, but all of which make the world a little better. I hope to be open to doing more things as they present themselves.

    The photos lift me up, too. The beauty of the peacock is astounding. And what a lovely picture of you as a child. Children are such blessings right now.

    We Are Humanity is a beautiful poem. I hope you will share it widely.

  2. It’s definitely been several difficult weeks. I am trying to teach my kids not to fear, but also to be aware. And it’s a sad thing, that in these times we still have to go through all of that. Everything in the world right now is just a culmination of all that was already out there, but in the shadows, without social media to bring it all to light. It’s a sad thing to say out loud, but truth that needs to be spoken.

    Thankfully, it’ll help make many things a lot better now, bringing awareness to many that have blinded themselves to the harsh realities many black and brown people are still having to endure. Thank you for posting and sharing all of this. It’s very much appreciated. We may not all be out there protesting, but you are right… Those of us we a platform like these, should at least try to do our part by posting and sharing about all of those issues at hand. Take care and God Bless! <3

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *