Unmasking the rhyme's secret

It is not often that one comes across a kind person, and they do not always turn out to be poets or storytellers. That’s why it might be nice to get to know Jasmine James, a poet from Pongummoodu in Thiruvananthapuram.

In her book Tamed Horses released on Saturday, there is a poem titled Hollow Man. It is about someone who rings her door bell, asking for food and money. Paced slow, the poem takes time to narrate the story of a man who rings her door bell, initially appears with a “sweet sunken smile”, but later “demands” for food and money. There is compassion when the poet says, “I see myself as hollow as him anytime”. The piece feels so honest, that it is but natural to ask the poet whether this was a real incident, and not be surprised when she says yes. 

“That is someone who used to visit once in two months. Now, he visits every two weeks,” she says.

Her debut book does offer glimpses into this thoughtful, spiritual person’s life. However, not all pieces are slices from her life, she says. “Sometimes, I start writing because I like a certain word. Sometimes, I write about people I come across. Sometimes, I want poems to rhyme,” she says. She has also written in response to events outside her life. A Song for America was about the 9/11 attack. It may not be one of her best pieces, but she says she wrote it because one had to respond to the event. “It may be a little weak, because I am not directly affected by it. However, it was written because it had to be written about,” she says.

The book also offers short pieces, which the poet has grouped under the title Thoughts. The book is accessible to the larger audience who fear poetry. (In fact, English language has a word for the fear of poetry—’metrophobia’.) It has fresh ideas, in easy, transparent language. The book’s title comes from one such idea. Wild horses, according to the young poet, are a lot easier to understand than tamed horses, as the latter would have been trained to mask their feelings of fear or despair. 

Jasmine James is a freelance designer by profession, and a sweet person, by heart. You would know it if you read the book released at the Lecture Hall, of Benziger Memorial Spirituality Centre.