My Love of Poetry is not Gone, an exploration of poetry, part 1 of 3

Guest Post on Writing Poetry By Ruchi Acharya

Publisher’s note: As part of the Parisian Phoenix mission, we publish unique voices and diverse perspectives in print and online. So, this week, we will explore poetry with Indian author Ruchi Acharya. Our favorite line in today’s installment is, “Poetry has the power to support people when there is no one with them.”

I know. I’ve been there as well, flipping the pages of the old-dusty books and going through grey webpages of the internet to find a write-up that can match my poetry aesthetic. All I was seeking for basic guidance to aid me getting started to write a poem that I always wanted to write. Despite spending golden sands of hours from dusk to dawn I return empty handed and ended up banging my head on the laptop screen. Suddenly the world seems dull and unpleasant and there’s a halt to exert and push my imagination. Drowsiness and fatigue prevail and eventually I ended up scrolling reels on the social media.

Poetry is not everyone’s cup of tea. It requires limitless imagination, plethora of creativity, superfluity of sentiments flowing in your veins, dedication to cultivate discipline towards daily practice, constant motivation, and consistency to refine your poetic skills. Always remember, we write poems to feel our magical existence in this world. That’s why you are in this profession in the first place. We know the taste of art of writing.

There were times when I felt my love for poetry is gone. The days when I didn’t win a contest or when I received a dozen of rejected emails floating in my Inbox. It was difficult for me to grasp that my heart poured poems doesn’t have the potential to get published in journals. I wonder, does that make me a loser? This further resulted in shaking my confidence, unstoppable overthinking, and unnecessarily self-doubts on my capabilities. Guess how I found my lost inspiration?

One evening while I was dusting off my old school stuffs, I stumbled across my mathematics notebook. I remember how much I hated Math in the school back then. A wave of nostalgia swept over me when I curled a few pages of the notebook and I found my first poem, “Wingless Dreamer.” A smile spread across my face. The poem was full of grammatical errors and irregular rhyming schemes. It made me giggle to see such an imperfect poem. Still, it remains my favorite write-up since it was about my first love who passed away few days before I wrote it. This is where my love towards poetry grew fonder and deeper. Poetry has the power to support people when there is no one with them.

Later that evening, I walked to the beach and sat on the sandy seashore watching the pink sunset. With ebb and flow between the golden shore and moon, I was a numskull who didn’t realize it sooner. Poetry is not about perfection but an art of channelizing your inner emotions in words.
In order to sustain in this commercialised world, I forgot that poetry comes from within. How foolish I was to chase contest deadlines and rage to finish off writing my poems. Always remember writing can’t be forced. That’s when I bridge hope in my mind and went back to my study to begin working on my poem once again. The rest is history.

Well, there are few things I learnt before I embarked on a journey of transforming myself from an amateur poet to the founder and chief-editor of the Wingless Dreamer Publisher. Through this article I would like to share my knowledge with you. I hope it will prove fruitful to you.

Stay tuned for lessons one through four in parts two and three of this post.

ABOUT WINGLESS DREAMER PUBLISHER

In 2019, Indian author Ruchi Acharya dreamed of a literary community that could bridge the gap between fellow, emerging writers with a fervent passion to create and the world of traditional publishing. She envisioned a place where writers and artists were allowed to publish based solely on the merit of their creative skills. Her desire and inspired vision culminated in the design of Wingless Dreamer Publisher, a forum providing aspiring and experienced creators alike the opportunity to share their love of English literature and art on a global platform. 
Throughout the year, our Wingless Dreamer team offers a multitude of themed writing contests designed to stimulate fresh ideas and present an opportunity for talented authors worldwide to contribute perspectives through creative expression efforts. We select the best of the best submissions and stream together the components of writing, editing, and illustrating to result in publications of beautiful literary anthologies that we promote in the marketplace. Our commitment to providing this single platform and process allows our authors and artists to bypass challenges and obstacles associated with the traditional publishing goal, and instead maintain their focus and devotion to creating works of art.

Finally, at its core, the human spirit desires connections through expressions. We ardently endeavor to gift wings to these heartfelt dreams.