Elixir of Life | Poem by Pratichi,13, Bhubhaneswar
How do you perceive words? 13-year-old Pratichi from Bhubhaneswar writes an ‘Ars Poetica’ style poem about what poetry means to her.
The term ‘Ars Poetica’ is a Latin term meaning ‘The Art of Poetry’. It was a poem written by Horace in 19th century BCE, in which he advises poets of the art of writing poetry and drama. An Ars Poetica is a poem that identifies the poets themselves as subjects, their relationships to the poem and the act of writing.
Elixir of Life
You are the ocean,
Deep, dark and unsteady;
Waves crashing against each other,
Rising to impossible heights.
Raging against injustice,
Raging against society,
Raging against discrimination,
Raging, raging, raging–
You are the sea,
Shining white, a beautiful delight,
My emotions lashing at the brim,
Waiting to be let out.
Overflowing when it can’t contain,
Destroying, damaging, tearing,
And then calm again,
Like nothing ever happened.
You are the river,
You denote time.
Inspiring us to flow into the future,
Leaving behind the past.
For time does not stop,
The world does not wait,
The seasons keep shifting,
And we must learn to change.
You are life- giving water,
A bead of sweat for one,
A tear of sorrow for the other,
But my very lifeline for me.
