! ! ! ! Poetry, Mathematics And Distress...! ! ! ! Poem by Mamta Agarwal

Poetry turns into jugglery,
As I struggle with counting syllables
To meet the demands of structure-
Haiku, iambic pentameter,
Stress, unstressed;
Leaves me in distress…

Free or blank,
Verse or worse,
Is it art
Is it craft?
Lament the classicists
Follow rules, they persist…

A pen, a piece of paper
And some floating thoughts
In the stream of consciousness,
Are basic tools, but to add spunk
Rules are a must,
Add effectiveness…

Oh, but I insist
I write from the heart:
For relaxation, self expression
Meditation, catharsis
To enjoy, feel buoyed
Not to annoy…
Am an amateur, no artist.

All that effort at compression,
Shows- makes no impression...
I find it difficult to comform
Honestly, I suffer from
A mental block
At a poetry workshop.

Loved mathematics,
but not off late,
after the stock market
crashed....
But not one to admit defeat,
thought let me use my
numerical skills
to enhance my creativity.

Alas, have forgotten to count
and at the same time recount...
A classic is not in my fate.

So I rebelled,
please refund my fee
and let me be.