Ellipsis

I read two poems by Mary Oliver this week titled - "Mysteries, Yes" and "Percy (Nine)". I have been away for a couple of months and in this time I have been slow reading the volume Devotions - Selected poems by Mary Oliver. Her poems have a way of slipping into your day without attracting any attention, have a way of being on your mind without you explicitly recalling any of the words. Her poems truly are a mood, one that I have been consciously slipping into these busy days in the last two months. So much so that I hope to read at least a few more of her poems from this exceptional volume in the upcoming episodes. Stay tuned :)  I read the poems from the physical copy of Devotions that I have with me. The poem "Mysteries, Yes" is from her book Evidence, and "Percy (Nine)" is from Dog Songs.  The host, Ravneet Bawa as - @two_thirds_beneath on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter    Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com  Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or from books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

I read two poems by Nissim Ezekiel this week titled - "Goodbye Party for Miss Pushpa T. S." and "Jewish Wedding in Bombay". Nissim is an iconic Indian poet, most active in the decades right after India's Independence. I find his poems delightful, raw postcards from a time in Bombay that I haven't seen and know little of. In his work, he often used 'Indian English', a term that raises as many heckles as it amuses. I am in the amused camp. Please listen :) I read the poems from the All Poetry website -  https://allpoetry.com/Jewish-Wedding-in-Bombay https://allpoetry.com/poem/14330576-Goodbye-Party-For-Miss-Pushpa-T.S.-by-Nissim-Ezekiel The host, Ravneet Bawa as - @two_thirds_beneath on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter    Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com  Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or from books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

I read a poem by Billy Collins this week titled - "Advice to Writers". It's a short and clear poem that lays out a day in the life of a writer and how he creates the space outside and within to invite inspiration. One that you can use no matter what profession you are in. The poem is a reminder of how you can create a day free of distractions yet not alienating for inspiration to get your day's work done. I read the poem from The Alipore Post newsletter - https://thealiporepost.substack.com/p/135-on-living-alone  The host, Ravneet Bawa as - @two_thirds_beneath on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or from books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

I read my own poems this week. Most of these are lockdown meditations from last year and this. Perhaps you won't find them entirely disappointing. Listen in! :) Hopeful is available on my blog here Some of my other published work is linked from this link.tree page. The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @two_thirds_beneath on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or from books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

I read two poems this week by Mary Oliver. She is the one poet who always finds the right words to articulate the moment. In this episode I read - "Every Morning" which contextualises death and how we become used to it. The second poem is "The Real Prayers Are Not The Words But The Attention That Comes First". Listen in!    I discovered Every Morning on this link first- https://www.instagram.com/p/CNusJjcB3yh/ However sharing another link here from The Poetry Foundation for both poems: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/browse?contentId=42419 https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/browse?contentId=36384 The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @two_thirds_beneath on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or from books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

I read "Keeping Things Whole" by Mark Strand. This poem is one of my absolute favourites, the sort you scribble on a piece of paper and keep in your purse. A reminder that we all fragment, that we all also cause others to fragment, and then we moe. We move, we heal. Listen in!   The poem I read is from: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47541/keeping-things-whole The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @two_thirds_beneath on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or from books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

I read "The female of the species" by Gauri Deshpande. Last episode we read about flying penises that don't quite fly. This episode is an epic Indian confessional poet writing about the daily experience of being a woman and finding comfort in mundane domesticity with a community of other women.  Listen in!  The poem I read is from: http://daak.co.in/passionate-warriors-weary-wars-gauri-deshpandes-confessional-poetry/  The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @two_thirds_beneath on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or from books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

Or when it doesn't? In this episode, I read "Lorena" by Lucille Clifton. Short, wicked poem that is fun just as it is but that is important if you really look. Saying anything more is to give away the poem. Listen in!  The poem I read is from: https://www.theparisreview.org/poetry/1598/lorena-lucille-clifton The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @two_thirds_beneath on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or from books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

In this episode, I read "$$$$$$" by Charles Bukowski. It's a lyrical poem, rather fun if you don’t take it seriously. But I urge you to take it seriously. To listen to it once for the poem itself, and then another one for the voice of the poet, for what he is really saying. Listen in! The poem I read is part of the anthology - Love is a dog from hell. Profile: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/charles-bukowski S1E9: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1fmYFIScp34NdY1MoQeT65?si=baee3d43c80948da The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @two_thirds_beneath on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

In this episode, I read "Fine" by Kim Addonizio. It's a short poem and complements the poem Peers that I read in Episode 1 really well. Peers was about looking back at time, this one is set in the present and an incisive look at the present at that. It may feel morbid but listen to the alternative interpretations I present. Listen in! The poem I read can be accessed here - https://poetry.lib.uidaho.edu/category/kim-addonizio/ The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @two_thirds_beneath on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

In this episode, I read "Peers" by Craig Morgan Teicher. I loved reading this poem in the latest issue of The New Yorker magazine. Link below. The poem is a piece of contemplative nostalgia, a trek down to your early twenties, a rumination of what we thought we had ahead of us, of dreams and ambition. And then a turning over the leaves of memories to see what we actually did, the world we inherited and the world we are preparing to leave as our legacy. Listen in!  The poem I read can be accessed here - https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/04/05/peers The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @two_thirds_beneath on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com  Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

In this episode, I read “Hazaron Khwahishain Aisi" by Mirza Ghalib. This is also the last episode of Ellipsis Season-1. I will be taking a 4 week break after this and return on the first Tuesday of November. I hope Ellipsis nudged you gently into reading and exploring poetry on your own a bit. When I look back I see several things I could have done better and differently but my one big hope was to have some of you listen to poems and see for yourselves how beautifully they capture the universal and unique aspects of the human condition. And if in that I succeeded, I would think of this as a job well done. Listen in!  The poem I read can be accessed here - https://www.rekhta.org/ghazals/hazaaron-khvaahishen-aisii-ki-har-khvaahish-pe-dam-nikle-mirza-ghalib-ghazals The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @one_third_above on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com  Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

In this episode, I read "Litany in which certain things are crossed out" by Richard Siken. It's a long, long poem and one that keeps you hooked from sentence to sentence, line break to line break. It's a poem where the scenes shift and unfold almost like a play on stage. It is the litany of a lover who loves too much and believes he gets too little in return. He knows he loves too much. He knows he shouldn't. Yet he finds it hard to love any other way, even when love fails him completely, and forever. Listen in! The poem I read can be accessed here - https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48158/litany-in-which-certain-things-are-crossed-out The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @one_third_above on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

In this episode, I read "You bring out the Mexican in me" by Sandra Cisneros. It is one of my favourite poems, originally written in 1994 and from her anthology Loose Woman. I have tried to include as many translations as possible in the recitation since it has some phrases and words in Spanish and some specific Mexican references. Trust me the beauty of the poem is in its rhythmic passion so do give it a listen. And if you find yourself unable to relate to it, head over to my adaptation of this poem that I have included in a subsequent bonus episode :) Listen in!           The poem I read can be accessed here - https://www.reddit.com/r/Poetry/comments/epg9ke/poem_you_bring_out_the_mexican_in_me_by_sandra/ The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @one_third_above on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com                               Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

In this episode, I read "Possibilities" by the Polish poet Wislawa Szymborska. I love the genuine and generous voice that Wislawa lends to her poetry. It is the voice of a seasoned and loveable aunt, the voice of one who you go to for advice about the secret to a happy marriage and also to rant about climate change. It is the voice of one who observes keenly, remarks subtly and maintains sharply. This poem is called Possibilities and is a way of saying only that I prefer many things, and so must you. We can all live here, side by side and question still the reason for being. Listen in!           The poem I read can be accessed here - https://www.brainpickings.org/2015/03/18/amanda-palmer-wislawa-szymborska-possibilities-poem-reading/ More of her poems - https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/wisaawa-szymborska#tab-poems The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @one_third_above on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com                              Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

In this episode, I read a few poems by Robert Frost - three in fact none of which I have read before - Dust of Snow, Neither Far Out Nor In Deep, On looking up by chance at the constellations. I find Robert Frost's poems rhythmic, simple and insightful. Like I say in the episode he has the attentive poet's gift of taking a momentary observation and making it momentous. There is a lilt in his poems that belies the seriousness of his observation and his introspection. If you are having a dull day, find yourself five of his poems and just read. It is immensely uplifting. Listen in!          The poem I read can be accessed here - https://allpoetry.com/Robert-Frost   The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @one_third_above on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com                              Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

In this episode, I read "Don't Let Me Be Lonely" by Claudia Rankine. It is a collection of poems written in response to 9/11. about a decade back. It has a series of meditations on alienation, segregation and racism. In response to the anger in America post 9/11 and rising crime against ethnic minorities, Claudia's response in this poem was one of feeling abject sadness and loneliness. This poem particularly was heartbreaking in many ways, one just the subject of feeling dead owing to a bleak state of affairs but also the red tape of procedure, one that is bereft of all humanity and understanding, one where those who are meant to protect you, hurt you. Listen in!          The poem I read can be accessed here - https://poets.org/poem/dont-let-me-be-lonely-there-was-time  The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @one_third_above on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com                             Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

In this episode, I read "Life's Work" by Brenda Shaugnessey. It is a simple poem really, some might call it pedestrian. But doing so is to not engage with all the confessional poetry coming out of the life and rumination of so many women who spend their lives living within the confines of their home, talking to objects as people come and people go. It is possible and often the case that we reject the lived experiences of homemakers as being of little cultural importance. I find this not only discriminatory but also diminishing for all of humanity. Apart from the fact that these situation exist because of centuries of historical, economic imperatives with imbalances built into them, there is also the fact that there has been little action to reverse it. And refusing to engage with the demographic is in my eyes a disservice far worse. An adjacent thought is also how the richness of inner lives, the evolution of personal philosophy does not germinate uniquely from the traditional experience of going far and out for work and exploration, an interior exploration is just as rich. And if it is weary, so is the weariness of a life of economic reasons and social norms. Listen in!         The poem I read can be accessed though The Paris Review Daily Poem newsletter. You can sign up for it online. The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @one_third_above on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com                            Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

In this episode, I read a couple of different pieces - excerpts from an essay by Zadie Smith called "Something to do" and a nazm by Faiz Ahmed Faiz called "Kuch ishq kiya, kuch kaam kiya". This is a rather unique episode and a unique pairing. But both of these pieces came to me this week and I couldn't help but connect the dots. It is an experimental episode, one I hope you will like. It is an attempt to understand the significance of time, what constitutes a good definition for work and what does Love have anything to do with either. I doubt you haven't asked these questions of yourself at some point in time. Here's an attempt at stringing together some answers from the stellar artists featured today!        The poem I read can be accessed here - https://www.rekhta.org/nazms/kuchh-ishq-kiyaa-kuchh-kaam-kiyaa-kuchh-ishq-kiyaa-kuchh-kaam-kiyaa-faiz-ahmad-faiz-nazms And the Zadie Smith essay excerpts are from -   https://www.brainpickings.org/2020/08/13/zadie-smith-intimations-something-to-do/ The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @one_third_above on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com                           Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.

In this episode, I read "Slow Dance" by Matthew Dickman. Matthew writes of slow dances with strangers and with lovers, with siblings and with orangutans and what they feel like. By the end of the poem he reminds you of any that you might have had and makes you envious if you haven't yet slow danced with someone. Read, listen, and the next time you have the mauka bhi and dastoor bhi, please hold that hand and lean in!       The poem I read can be accessed here - https://allyourprettywords.tumblr.com/post/120985473153/slow-dance-matthew-dickman  The host, Ravneet Bawa as -   @one_third_above on Instagram   @maikeya on Twitter   Email: ravneet_bawa@icloud.com                          Disclaimer: This podcast is created for sharing with friends and family, and only as a passion project amidst the Covid lockdown with no commercial interest. In all episodes I read from sources on the public internet or copies of books I possess. The commentary is all my own.