Emoticon Poems

Over the years, I've come across many different types of poems for e.g. abecedarian, acrostic, ballad, blank verse, bop, blues poem, cento, cinquain, echo verse, elegy, epic, epigram, epistle, epitaph, free verse, ghazal, haiku, limerick, ode, pantoum, persona poem, renga, rondeau, senryu, sonnet, tanka, telestich, terza rima, triolet, villanelle, etc.

The list of variations, classifications and modifications seems to be endless.

But I searched for Emoticon Poems - the type that I usually write.

I found none ;-)

Hence, I thought of coming up with this new genre of poems and coining the term - Emoticon Poems in which some lines of the poems end with emoticons.

The emoticons or emotags could be inserted in the beginning, middle or end of the poem depending on which line/s the writer wants to emphasise with emotions. These sequential letters, symbols or facial glyphs complement the line/s or the poem as a whole, adding much more to it in way of expression although caution should be exercised not to add too many in case it spoils the decor or aesthetics of the poem. To avoid the use of glaring red/yellow images or emojis, I always use text emoticons rather than pictorial ones. Also, I would suggest - to avoid any confusion, use the emoticons which are more popular rather than using the rarer ones which might perplex your readers. For e.g. :) ;) :( are easily understood than the less common ones such as :-~~~ which means drooling or (-_-) which means secret smile ;-) unless of course, you are not only willing to put in an unusual emoticon but are also able to explain in a footnote below the poem what that queer symbol symbolises ;-)

I usually go for emoticons that have a universal appeal and are simple to understand thus helping to retain the simplicity of my poetry.

Emoticons are derived from 2 words - Emotion + Icons.

In my poems, I often use them as Smileys :-) Winkeys ;-) or Frowns/Sadness :-(

Emoticons show the emotions expressed in the lines of the poem through a facial expression using a colon or semicolon, an optional hyphen (dash) and a parenthesis (bracket), thereby conveying the writer's feelings, attitudes & intentions and clarifying the intended tone of the poem - the way the writer wants those lines to be perceived by the reader.

I insert emoticons to help the reader better understand the feeling I want to get across....so as to minimise any misunderstanding.

Sometimes at the very end of the poem i.e. beneath all the lines and verses, I would put ;-) or :-) or :D or LOL :D so that the overall mood of the poem is conveyed i.e. it is a light-hearted / flirtatious / humorous poem and I would like the reader to perceive it that way.

I hope this trend of using Emoticons in Poems doesn't die with me and somebody who enjoys reading and writing such poems, carries on after me :-)

Proposing this new category of poetry, I would also say that to each his own; people who are not comfy writing poems with emoticons, I wish them happiness with their old ways of writing :-)

And now before I leave you, let me share with you some of my Emoticon Poems so that you can sample some examples of such writing:

Last Night

http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Poem&PoemID=15073

Pages

http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Poem&PoemID=14748

Popcorn

http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Poem&PoemID=16321

Q&A

http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Poem&PoemID=16944

The Sports Channel

http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Poem&PoemID=18110

Let Me

http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Poem&PoemID=20212

You can read many more such Emoticon Poems of mine on my Profile Page

http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Writers&WriterID=2140

And now as always, here are the ending Quotes for your Notes :-)

If at first the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it. - Albert Einstein

Friendship may, and often does, grow into love, but love never subsides into friendship. - Lord Byron

When a woman's wave rises she feels she has an abundance of love to give, but when it falls she feels her inner emptiness and needs to be filled up with love. - John Gray

People don't notice whether it's winter or summer when they're happy. - Anton Chekhov

Love is a lot like Dreams! They both have no borders or boundaries! Except the ones we build in our egoic mind. - Philip T. M.

We mistakenly assume that if our partners love us they will react and behave in certain ways—the ways we react and behave when we love someone. - John Gray

You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body. - C.S. Lewis



Hope happiness kisses your feet so that you can make lots of others happy :-)

Cheers
Aparna

--
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Today's News - Please Peruse

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Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home. - Edith Sitwell

Picture Quote Courtesy: Brainy Quote dot Com

She

She kisses
Me good night
Before going to
Bed

I pray for her
Good night
Before going
To bed

(wrote this last night after my Kochi kissed me good night as she does almost every night :)

Theme could be Welfare or Felicity





That

That look of
Silence on
His face

His silent
Posture
Full of grace

Makes me
Want to
Embrace him
And share his
Pain that plagues
Him





Wherever

Wherever
You go...
You take
Your mind
And body
With you
And your
Heart
Keeps
Racing
Between
The two
To see
Who'll
Win over
You :-)






If You Have

If you have
A void that
For the rest
Of your life
Remains
Unfilled

No matter
Whatever
You do...
You'll always
Have a life
Unfulfilled

(Theme: Void)





You

You come
You go
I don't
Even
Want to
Look at
You now

Why?

'Cause
Many days
I've had to
Do without
You

So might
As well
Get used
To a life
Without
You

(addressed to sunshine; Theme could be Annoyance or Resentment; wrote this on one of the many dreary, cloudy days of UK when there is no Sun for us the whole day)





For

For some
Days his
Poems
Were not
Coming in

I was
Wondering
Why this
Silence had
Seeped in

Not realising
That now his
Poems will
Never come in

As death
Had silently
Seeped in

(dedicated to Bharat B Trivedi who died last year; may his soul RIP)





Time

Time has
Just
Flown off

I'm waiting
To see
When it
Will come
Back to me
Saying:

Come
Fly with
Me...!!!

And
Holding
Its hand
I'll fly off
To eternity

:-)

(Theme: Abstract)

All These

All these
Plumbers
Are so
Handsome
That you
Keep
Looking
At them
While
They're
Talking
And then
You forget
All about
What all
They were
Talking ;-)

:D

(Theme could be Mesmerising / Distraction)





You

You look
Forward
To reading
Some poets
As if the
Words are
Waiting to be
Sung by their
Solos & Duets





Die

I want to
Die before
You :-)
So that
I can see
What mischiefs
You are up to
Without me
;-)

(Theme: Death)






Mind

Some days
My mind
Just stops
Working
As if it's
Gone on
Labour
Strike -
Protesting
And saying
Come what
May, today
I'm celebrating
Mind Day
And so I
Simply don't
Feel like
Working !!!

(Theme: Humour)





You

You look
Forward
To
Forwards
For a
Smile
Or a
Laugh
Not
Knowing
That death
Is waiting
For you
To have
The last
Laugh :D





Sex

Sex is
What
Brings us
Together

Love is
What
Keeps us
Together

(wrote this poem thinking about long-term relationships wherein the couples might have got together due to mutual attraction be it sex, love or infatuation and over the years, when the physical drives are not as high as in the youthful years, love is what binds them together - the everlasting need for commitment and companionship is paramount in such relationships)





This

This
Coldness
Keeps
Killing me
Every day
And I keep
Reviving myself
Every day
Struggling to
Survive every day

[thinking of the freezing UK weather; given the option I would have gone and settled in Spain; but my husband's work and children's education keep me tied here even though I've never liked UK weather barring some nice, summery days that are warm and sunny; surprisingly none of them (hubby+kids) feel as cold as I do; maybe it is to do with heredity as neither me nor my father can bear cold weather]





Liberation

Many of
My desires
Have been
Fulfilled

And I
Realize
That some
Of my desires
Will never be
Fulfilled

So?
What more
Do I want from
Life?

Mukti
Liberation

Why?

'Cause
I've had
Enough of
Life

Pizza

With shaking
Hands that
Old man
Came and
Delivered my
Pizza

Seeing him
I seem to have
Lost my appetite
For pizza

(Theme: Poverty)






Switching

Switching
Off the
Phone
He thinks
He'll be
Able to
Sleep...
Not
Knowing
That the
Phone
Will keep
Ringing
In his
Mind
Not
Letting
Him
Sleep...






Why?

Why did he
Go?
Where did he
Go?

Why does
Life always
Elope with
Death...Do
You know?

(He in the first stanza refers to a deceased person)

Theme could be Lovers / Partners wherein life and death are seen as eloping lovers or perpetual partners.


All the above Poems are © Aparna Chatterjee 2015

All Pix are © Getty Images dot Com (Courtesy: Boloji)

Window of Love

Happy Viewing :-)

Last Year

We went to Germany in the Summer and Colchester in the Winter.

It was only today I managed to get the time to finalise the slideshows for you to view :-)

49 Photos from Crowne Plaza Holiday Resort in Colchester, UK

https://www.flickr.com//photos/aparnaonline/sets/72157648359966884/show

246 Photos from Frankfurt, Koblenz and Rhine Valley in Germany

https://www.flickr.com//photos/aparnaonline/sets/72157646270869991/show

If the above slides stop working, you can also see the photos here :-)

https://www.flickr.com/photos/aparnaonline/sets/72157648359966884/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/aparnaonline/sets/72157646270869991

Happy Viewing :-)

And as always, if you enjoy, please do share it with your friends and families....

Have a lovely Valentine's weekend :-)

And now, let me take leave of you by sharing 2 Quotes with you:

True love is not giving power to the other person, but instead is empowering you to make that person happy. - Carlos Salinas




Well, I don't. I'm down with Alzheimer.

LOL :D

Anyway, happy remembering as there's much more to this Quote than just mere laughing ... a lot of depth in it, makes you think - long and hard...

Cheers
Aparna

--
Google Posting - Happy Perusing :-)

https://plus.google.com/117466581567846877904/posts

YouTube Playlists - Happy Playing :-)

https://www.youtube.com/user/playingplaylists/playlists

Do everything with so much love in your heart that you would never want to do it any other way. - Yogi Desai

Picture Quote Courtesy: Search Quotes dot Com

What is BP ?!

Well, it means Blood Pressure.

It also stands for British Petroleum and reading this American book, I found that BP also means Bipolar which many people know as Manic Depression or Manic Depressive Psychosis (MDP).

I've already read 2 books from this series, the details of which are here on these Links:

Voices of Alzheimer's

Voices of Multiple Sclerosis

All these books have been published by LaChance Publishing which contributes 100% of its net proceeds to The Healing Project, LLC which is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the health and welfare of people struggling with chronic and life-threatening illnesses. It helps develop resources for enhancing their quality of life and the lives of their families.



This book about Bipolar Disorder is a very helpful guide for not only the patients but also their friends, family and caregivers as it helps them understand the signs, symptoms, causes, diagnosis and prognosis of this intriguing mental illness of extreme mood swings characterised by euphoric manic episodes followed by extreme bouts of depression.
The majority of people with Bipolar Disorder have recurrent episodes but in between episodes, most people don’t experience any symptoms. While some people may have only one or two mood episodes in their lifetime and lead relatively unaffected lives, others may have multiple episodes, often several times a year.

Mood Disorders are of 2 types: Unipolar Disorder also known as Depression and Bipolar Disorder in which the person's mood alternates between the 2 states of being abnormally low (depression) and abnormally high (mania).

Here are some interesting facts about Bipolar Disorder that I have gathered from the websites: Pendulum, DBSA, Treatment Advocacy Center, WebMD and Mental Health Care 

As of today, around 51 million people all over the world suffer from Bipolar Disorder with the top 3 affected countries being China, India and USA.

The median age of onset for Bipolar Disorder is 25 years although the illness can start in early childhood or in late adulthood (40s/50s). In rare cases, children as young as five can develop Bipolar Disorder.

An equal number of men and women develop Bipolar Disorder and it is found in all ages, races, ethnic groups and social classes.

More than 2/3rds of people with Bipolar Disorder have at least one close relative with the illness or with unipolar major depression, indicating that the disease is hereditary and can be inherited through genes. Bipolar Disorder is more likely to affect the children of parents who have the disorder. When one parent has Bipolar Disorder, the risk to each child is l5%-30%. When both parents have Bipolar Disorder, the risk increases to 50%-75%.

Bipolar Disorder is one of the leading causes of disability in the world. This neurobiological illness results in 9.2 years reduction in expected life span, and 1 in every 5 patients with Bipolar Disorder dies by suicide due to lack of proper therapy and social support as their pain exceeds the resources for coping with the pain.

Not everyone’s symptoms are the same, and there is no simple physiological test to confirm the disorder. Bipolar Disorder can deceptively appear to be unipolar depression or even schizophrenia (another type of mental illness). Hence, diagnosing Bipolar Disorder is often difficult, even for mental health professionals. On an average, people with Bipolar Disorder consult 3-4 doctors and spend more than 8-10 years seeking the right treatment before they receive an accurate diagnosis.

Anti-psychotic drugs consisting of mood stabilizers, anti-anxiety pills and antidepressants are usually recommended for treating Bipolar Disorder. If medication is discontinued, the relapse rate could be about 80% within 2 years. With continued drug treatment, only about 40% of recovered patients could suffer relapses. Moreover, proactive lifestyle strategies and self-management skills such as regular aerobic exercises, a regular bedtime, a healthy diet, and paying attention to personal warning signs that a shift to depression or mania is coming can all help a person manage his Bipolar Disorder better. For e.g. if after a certain period of normalcy, a bipolar person on medication suddenly starts losing sleep, he may pay attention to his pattern of sleeplessness and contact his doctor for a change in drug or dosage.

Talking therapies designed for Bipolar Disorder or Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and/or Family Therapy can help stabilise patients' moods and help them recognise signs that they are becoming unwell so that they can try to prevent new episodes. Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) is also offered if all other therapies have failed to produce the desired effect and the patient is still experiencing severe psychotic symptoms. If someone’s behaviour is very extreme and destructive, and if he's considered a danger to himself and to others, he may be admitted to the hospital for treatment against his will, under the Mental Health Act.

Some famous figures who've lived with Bipolar Disorder are Beethoven, Van Gogh, Virginia Woolf, Vivien Leigh, Florence Nightingale, Graham Greene, Ernest Hemingway, Napoleon Bonaparte, Winston Churchill, Elvis Presley, Jim Carrey, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Stephen Fry, Mel Gibson, Frank Sinatra and Britney Spears. You can find a more extensive list on Wiki

Coming back to my view about the book, it showcases some very real life stories of people who've grappled with their mind-boggling symptoms for years before being able to reach a correct diagnosis with their doctors, of people trying to make some sense of their debilitating manic episodes and how they've managed to hold on to life despite all odds, making some major life-changing decisions, hoping to see some light at the end of the tunnel and striving to live even if death seemed to be the only option during moments of crisis. Kudos to them and also to their friends, family and caregivers (who with their unwavering love and support) made sure they lived thru it all....and came out of it all....with their heads held high.

I bought this interesting, informative and inspiring collection from Amazon.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Voices-Bipolar-Disorder-Companion-Strength/dp/1934184071

You can also buy it from The Book Depository which gives free worldwide delivery.

http://www.bookdepository.com/Voices-Bipolar-Disorder-Judith-Cohen/9781934184073

And before I take leave of you, as always, here are some nice, new Quotes for you that I've noted from my newspaper NPPQ

One should not use the name of God mechanically and superficially without the feeling of devotion. - Ramana Maharshi

The sun, the moon and the stars would have disappeared long ago...had they happened to be within the reach of predatory human hands. - Havelock Ellis

A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. - Oscar Wilde

When love is suppressed, hate takes its place. - Havelock Ellis

Sometimes the person you'd take a bullet for is the person behind the trigger. - Taylor Swift

Man...cannot learn to forget, but hangs on the past: however far or fast he runs, that chain runs with him. - Friedrich Nietzsche

There is no great genius without a mixture of madness. - Aristotle

I'm not upset that you lied to me, I'm upset that from now on I can't believe you. - Friedrich Nietzsche

Every man of genius sees the world at a different angle from his fellows, and there is his tragedy. - Havelock Ellis

One can promise actions, but not feelings, for the latter are involuntary. He who promises to love forever or hate forever or be forever faithful to someone is promising something that is not in his power. - Friedrich Nietzsche

It is only the great men who are truly obscene. If they had not dared to be obscene, they could never have dared to be great. - Havelock Ellis

Cheers
Aparna

--
The AC Daily - Please See

http://paper.li/alwaysaparna/1319026420

Today's News - Please Peruse

https://paper.li/alwaysaparna/1400751156#

Do everything with so much love in your heart that you would never want to do it any other way. - Yogi Desai