Isles of Seclusion
Poets and sensitive souls shy from excess
Of virtually all vulgarity, violence,
Bathos, verbosity, the sentimental recess,
To stoically allow inner reserves dominance.
As at first brush when confronted with danger,
A tortoise recluse prefers by far its own hard shell
To risky encounters with dogs in the manger
That want own meat at the cost of everyone else.
On precipitous cliff turf, nests on ledges hard,
Squats midst sea thrift, reeds, low earth banks, rock crevices,
The dark-eyed smell-sensitive fulmar its privacy guards
At danger sign ejects foul stench, anti-intruder device.
As Sage from retreat and meditation draws his sustenance,
All from isles of seclusion reap dividends, extract our subsistence.
Beauty’s Yardstick & Temple Triumphs
Stars flit o’er the sky’s midnight blue
As I contend with beauty, beauty long forgot,
Grapple with changing aesthetics untrue
As fickle as fashion tastes yesterday bought.
The essence of beauty’s always valued as valour
Even as yardsticks to judge constant change,
And then there be those that see beauty in squalor,
In ugliness, the rundown, downtrodden range.
But then as stars flit o’er the sky’s midnight blue
And the bright silvery moon’s light’s unfurled,
I see the changing moon’s many phased golden hue
The promise of that round full moon curled.
Beauty’s like that, I tell you, as round table we dine.
With but one face presented, the whole’s constant, eternal, mine.
Saloni Kaul, author and poet, was first published at the age of ten and has stayed in print since on four continents. As critic and columnist Saloni has enjoyed forty-two years of being published. Saloni Kaul’s first volume, a fifty poem collection was published in the USA in 2009. Subsequent volumes include Universal One and Essentials All.
Saloni Kaul is also an accomplished broadcaster, writer-producer-presenter with innumerable documentaries and features to her credit.
Most recent Saloni Kaul poetic production has been published in The Horrorzine, Misty Mountain Review, Mad Swirl (contains ongoing Saloni Kaul poetry page), The Penwood Review, Scarlet Leaf Review, OVI Magazine, House Of Horror Glitter & Words, whimperbang, Mantis, The Paragon Press Journal and The Imaginate. Upcoming publication acceptances include those of The Penwood Review, Scarlet Leaf Review, Ovi, Amulet Poetry and Mystical Muse Poetry Magazine.