Love, Loss and a Hunger for Words
Poetry, often described as a rhythm of emotions that strikes your heart at the right moments, is an extension of the poet’s heart. A good poem becomes a memory distant in time, an old song you could hear every evening, and oftentimes a faceless letter to yourself. While the modern face of poetry is often centred around another book of the month, the captivating short poem you read in an Instagram reel; the true essence of poetry is quietly hidden away in the hearts of honest admirers of the hues of love, loss, and the hunger of words that stay in the form of the craft that a wordsmith brings to their poems.
The land of Asia, known for its rich and sundry collection of arts and literature, has layers of numerous forms of poetry that one could explore. The poets and authors of Asia are a living testament to their culture, as well as windows to their stories of love and struggle for language, its survival, and its manifold faces. Their works bring us closer to the plethora of themes and layers that people often overlook.
Agha Shahid Ali, an Indian-origin poet, well known for his moving collections: The Country Without A Post Office, A Walk Through The Yellow Pages, and Rooms Are Never Finished, was a walking entity of the veracious art of weaving words into the curtains of real life.
Being born into a Kashmiri family, his poems were often an ode to his distinct culture, struggle, loss, and grief. For anyone with an intent of diving into sincere, tragic, and heart-rending poetry, Ali’s works become a hiding place. Nevertheless, his poetry goes beyond just being a curious mind’s passion, becoming as unforgettable as a nail buried in your chest. The words he left us with bring an odd sense of familiarity and warmth, as if a mirror with a reflection of one’s own heart, both tender and hurt.
Ocean Vuong is a fairly noted poet amongst the admirers of rhythmic and heartfelt poetry. Hailing from Vietnam, Vuong’s works are truly a heritage keepsake for those who truly treasure the veiled intent of art. Ocean’s debut collection, Night Sky With Exit Wounds, is a heartfelt memoir with a riot of themes such as loss, identity and finding peace in the chaos. His words are as intense as they are warm, blooming into a festival of emotions that the reader basks under. The first novel published by Vuong, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous is a moving, thought-provoking take on the complexities of existence, weaving a web of lyrical parallels between self-discovery and conflict; both within oneself and outwardly.
Another solitaire in the list of poets whose works become a living memory is Kaveh Akbar, an Iranian-originated poet, with the touching collections of Calling A Wolf A Wolf and Pilgrim Bell to his name. Kaveh’s poetry is almost like the sun peeking through the curtains of your window, slowly but surely settling into the quiet moments of your day. His compositions, a mirror to his inner turmoil and search for unknown answers are the bridge between the reader’s own emotions and questions as they swell into a string of unforgettable thoughts that stay with you through long nights.
As the day settles into the slow evenings you spend on your balcony, these poems and compositions settle their way into your heart as dust settles onto an old instrument. The birds returning to their little nests are an image of these words returning to the pure abode of the reader’s admiration, and the land of art and culture finds justice as it returns to its original tinge where art and poetry bloom in full glory.