I’m writing this in the form of a letter because this poem only deserves to be praised in this way only. Let me talk about its title first. ‘I Find Myself…’, such a simple title but so impactful and telling. This poem perfectly entails this journey where you finally find yourself and it just feels so good to reach that final stanza where you finally find yourself and we are met with a happy ending with unlimited possibilities.
First Stanza:
“Beyond the serene lake,
I stand, looking at my reflection.
Time ticks by, not a soul around,
Watching the ripples the wind creates.”
You start the poem by telling the readers that you are standing beyond a serene lake which automatically signals that you are somewhere alone at a very calm place. You are looking at your reflection and it seems like although the time is moving but somehow everything seems still and quiet. You are watching the ripples which are getting created by the wind which tells us that the it might be a strong breeze. That gives us the imagery of you enjoying the cool windy breeze with your hair dancing in the quiet of the misty air filled with the scent of the grasslands decorated with long trees canopying you along with the lake.
Second Stanza:
“I find myself in the sky above,
My hands reaching for it.
My nails tickling the soft white clouds,
Till I feel its tenderness on my skin.”
The first line automatically takes us to the sky. We can imagine that while looking at those ripples, you started to rise above slowly. You start feeling lighter and lighter and finally descend to the sky aka ‘defy gravity’ (sorry for the wicked pun but I had to. I’m still very very very obsessed with it.). You reach the clouds and your hands try to touch the soft white clouds which are so tender and white. Assuming it’s a clear day, the clouds must be white because if I’m not wrong, dark clouds are a bit heavy. Your nails are tickling the soft clouds because let’s face it right, no one can touch the clouds, the nails will poke them and it seems we are tickling them. Wonderful imagery!!
Third Stanza:
“I move gracefully like the breeze,
Swirling freely on my toes.
The frills on my dress flutter,
And move to the rhythm of the wind.”
You are moving gracefully like the breeze which helps us to visualise you moving or rather floating gently in the sky, on your toes. The frills of your dress fluttering tells us that you might be wearing a skirt which is fluttering while you’re floating. It just feels like you are one with the wind and just floating with it in sync and a perfect rhythm.
Fourth Stanza:
“I find myself in the plains,
The lush green foliage inviting me.
My fingers stroking the grass,
And it relaxes under my touch.”
Now, you’ve slowly landed on the ground. It’s a beautiful grassland with lush greenery which feels so inviting to you given your joyous and positive personality. You bend down and stroke the blades of grass with your fingers and it just feels so relaxing. Just so beautiful!!
Fifth Stanza:
“The sunflowers smile vivaciously,
Bowing in the wind, greeting me.
The roses turn a shade redder seeing me,
Are they blushing? Am I that pretty?”
You reach a meadow it seems which is filled with beautiful sunflowers and roses. The sunflowers are expressively welcoming you just like they direct themselves where the sun moves. You are their sun. They are vivaciously smiling and greeting you cause you have the aura and positivity of the sun and have just landed on the grass among them. Now you direct your attention towards the roses which seem more red than they usually are. Yes they are blushing because of how pretty you are. Like a fairy or dare I say ‘sugar plum fairy’ you’ve come from the sky and they are in awe of your ethereal beauty. The way you personified the flowers just feels so beautifully elegant. I can imagine everything and my mind is filled with colour, joy and positivity.
Sixth Stanza:
“I find myself in the rivers,
With the teenage dream of flowing away.
Swiftly and rapidly, in an unknown direction,
Towards my source of bliss.”
Now, it seems that while walking through the meadow, you’ve reached a river bank. You jump into the free flowing river. You’re standing and dreaming of flowing away which is a teenage dream. It’s so apt because when we are teenagers, we always want to flow away to somewhere else. We want freedom. We want to have agency and no one to control us. So in a way we want to be like a flowing river, which is rapidly flowing in a direction. The flow is so fast that it seems difficult to know in which direction the flow is directed to. It also feels that’s it’s a bit symbolic of the teenage where there are many directions to go, some are unknown and others are known. And we often want to go into the unknown cause as teenagers, we love to go on a thrilling adventure, isn’t it? It leads to bliss which also tells us that whatever teenagers do, at last we find bliss and that’s why we should be happy about whatever we are doing.
Seventh Stanza:
“The fiery sun slowly sets down,
Tugging the world inside twilight’s blanket.
The birds chasing the wind now slowly rest,
As the world steps into the night.”
The sun is setting down which means you began your journey in the morning and now it’s finally getting dark. The world is tucked inside the twilight’s blanket which is such a beautiful way to describe the advent of dusk. The birds also start to rest in their nests. Everything becomes still as the world steps into the night.
Eighth Stanza:
“I find myself in the moonlight,
Its soft glow illuminating my face.
Now, I finally know where I belong,
As I slip away into nature’s comforting arms.”
Finally, the moon is in the sky and you are standing, basking in the mystifying glory and glow of the moon. Your face, looking even more beautiful in the moonlight. You’ve finally realised that you belong here, within the comforting arms of nature. Amidst the trees, rivers and lakes, beneath the sky and above the plains. You are one with the nature and nature also finds comfort in you. Slipping away seems to mean that you might have slept on the grass under the moonlight near the river. Or, it can also mean that you are in a state of trance and everything feels so ethereal and mystical. At last, you are in nature and nature’s within you.
This poem is truly beautiful. It has that perfect blend of storytelling, vivid imagery, impeccable vocabulary and just a lot and lot of romanticism. It truly feels like your finest work and it has become one of my most favourite poems from you. Trust me when I say, writing a poem like this is not easy. It takes a lot to imagine these beautiful scenes and write everything in a few lines that feel like they belong together. You haven’t followed a particular rhyme scheme but the visuals are enough to make us literally float with you and feel every single thing through your eyes. This really gave me that William Wordsworth’s poem Daffodils’ feels and believe me when I say, that your poem deserves to be alongside his in that icse poem book. Forgetting the name but you know which one I’m talking about. Just so so so good!!!!!!! Thankyou for writing this. I’ll cherish this as one of the best pieces from you.
I...I am truly speechless. Never thought that someone would annotate my poems like this, and in the process, enhance it even more. You not only made my whole month with this comment, but also taught me how to write answers in ISC. LOL!😂❤️
You are really one of a kind Ritwik. The way you have stood by my side like a rock made me restore my faith in friendship. I owe you a lot for everything, my friend!🥹❤️
Oh my God!!! I’m close to crying right now. This is the sweetest thing someone has ever said to me. Thankyou so much!!
Well… your poem was that great so the ISC answer was bound to be phenomenal as well. Unlike those boring poems written by old men on the verge of their death. 😂😅
Anyways, you’ve also restored my faith in friendship. You are the only one with whom I talk to the most and that’s coming from someone who doesn’t talk to anyone this much. 😅♥️
I’m always there for you, through thick and thin, through fair and bad weather, through turmoil and joy, and through the times when some people (rat king and her bats’ army) are after you (sugar plum fairy), I’d be the loyal friend who’ll help you in defeating them. 🥹♥️
Dear Noyonika,
I’m writing this in the form of a letter because this poem only deserves to be praised in this way only. Let me talk about its title first. ‘I Find Myself…’, such a simple title but so impactful and telling. This poem perfectly entails this journey where you finally find yourself and it just feels so good to reach that final stanza where you finally find yourself and we are met with a happy ending with unlimited possibilities.
First Stanza:
“Beyond the serene lake,
I stand, looking at my reflection.
Time ticks by, not a soul around,
Watching the ripples the wind creates.”
You start the poem by telling the readers that you are standing beyond a serene lake which automatically signals that you are somewhere alone at a very calm place. You are looking at your reflection and it seems like although the time is moving but somehow everything seems still and quiet. You are watching the ripples which are getting created by the wind which tells us that the it might be a strong breeze. That gives us the imagery of you enjoying the cool windy breeze with your hair dancing in the quiet of the misty air filled with the scent of the grasslands decorated with long trees canopying you along with the lake.
Second Stanza:
“I find myself in the sky above,
My hands reaching for it.
My nails tickling the soft white clouds,
Till I feel its tenderness on my skin.”
The first line automatically takes us to the sky. We can imagine that while looking at those ripples, you started to rise above slowly. You start feeling lighter and lighter and finally descend to the sky aka ‘defy gravity’ (sorry for the wicked pun but I had to. I’m still very very very obsessed with it.). You reach the clouds and your hands try to touch the soft white clouds which are so tender and white. Assuming it’s a clear day, the clouds must be white because if I’m not wrong, dark clouds are a bit heavy. Your nails are tickling the soft clouds because let’s face it right, no one can touch the clouds, the nails will poke them and it seems we are tickling them. Wonderful imagery!!
Third Stanza:
“I move gracefully like the breeze,
Swirling freely on my toes.
The frills on my dress flutter,
And move to the rhythm of the wind.”
You are moving gracefully like the breeze which helps us to visualise you moving or rather floating gently in the sky, on your toes. The frills of your dress fluttering tells us that you might be wearing a skirt which is fluttering while you’re floating. It just feels like you are one with the wind and just floating with it in sync and a perfect rhythm.
Fourth Stanza:
“I find myself in the plains,
The lush green foliage inviting me.
My fingers stroking the grass,
And it relaxes under my touch.”
Now, you’ve slowly landed on the ground. It’s a beautiful grassland with lush greenery which feels so inviting to you given your joyous and positive personality. You bend down and stroke the blades of grass with your fingers and it just feels so relaxing. Just so beautiful!!
Fifth Stanza:
“The sunflowers smile vivaciously,
Bowing in the wind, greeting me.
The roses turn a shade redder seeing me,
Are they blushing? Am I that pretty?”
You reach a meadow it seems which is filled with beautiful sunflowers and roses. The sunflowers are expressively welcoming you just like they direct themselves where the sun moves. You are their sun. They are vivaciously smiling and greeting you cause you have the aura and positivity of the sun and have just landed on the grass among them. Now you direct your attention towards the roses which seem more red than they usually are. Yes they are blushing because of how pretty you are. Like a fairy or dare I say ‘sugar plum fairy’ you’ve come from the sky and they are in awe of your ethereal beauty. The way you personified the flowers just feels so beautifully elegant. I can imagine everything and my mind is filled with colour, joy and positivity.
Sixth Stanza:
“I find myself in the rivers,
With the teenage dream of flowing away.
Swiftly and rapidly, in an unknown direction,
Towards my source of bliss.”
Now, it seems that while walking through the meadow, you’ve reached a river bank. You jump into the free flowing river. You’re standing and dreaming of flowing away which is a teenage dream. It’s so apt because when we are teenagers, we always want to flow away to somewhere else. We want freedom. We want to have agency and no one to control us. So in a way we want to be like a flowing river, which is rapidly flowing in a direction. The flow is so fast that it seems difficult to know in which direction the flow is directed to. It also feels that’s it’s a bit symbolic of the teenage where there are many directions to go, some are unknown and others are known. And we often want to go into the unknown cause as teenagers, we love to go on a thrilling adventure, isn’t it? It leads to bliss which also tells us that whatever teenagers do, at last we find bliss and that’s why we should be happy about whatever we are doing.
Seventh Stanza:
“The fiery sun slowly sets down,
Tugging the world inside twilight’s blanket.
The birds chasing the wind now slowly rest,
As the world steps into the night.”
The sun is setting down which means you began your journey in the morning and now it’s finally getting dark. The world is tucked inside the twilight’s blanket which is such a beautiful way to describe the advent of dusk. The birds also start to rest in their nests. Everything becomes still as the world steps into the night.
Eighth Stanza:
“I find myself in the moonlight,
Its soft glow illuminating my face.
Now, I finally know where I belong,
As I slip away into nature’s comforting arms.”
Finally, the moon is in the sky and you are standing, basking in the mystifying glory and glow of the moon. Your face, looking even more beautiful in the moonlight. You’ve finally realised that you belong here, within the comforting arms of nature. Amidst the trees, rivers and lakes, beneath the sky and above the plains. You are one with the nature and nature also finds comfort in you. Slipping away seems to mean that you might have slept on the grass under the moonlight near the river. Or, it can also mean that you are in a state of trance and everything feels so ethereal and mystical. At last, you are in nature and nature’s within you.
This poem is truly beautiful. It has that perfect blend of storytelling, vivid imagery, impeccable vocabulary and just a lot and lot of romanticism. It truly feels like your finest work and it has become one of my most favourite poems from you. Trust me when I say, writing a poem like this is not easy. It takes a lot to imagine these beautiful scenes and write everything in a few lines that feel like they belong together. You haven’t followed a particular rhyme scheme but the visuals are enough to make us literally float with you and feel every single thing through your eyes. This really gave me that William Wordsworth’s poem Daffodils’ feels and believe me when I say, that your poem deserves to be alongside his in that icse poem book. Forgetting the name but you know which one I’m talking about. Just so so so good!!!!!!! Thankyou for writing this. I’ll cherish this as one of the best pieces from you.
Farewell.
I...I am truly speechless. Never thought that someone would annotate my poems like this, and in the process, enhance it even more. You not only made my whole month with this comment, but also taught me how to write answers in ISC. LOL!😂❤️
You are really one of a kind Ritwik. The way you have stood by my side like a rock made me restore my faith in friendship. I owe you a lot for everything, my friend!🥹❤️
Thanks a lot once again for everything!🥹💌
Oh my God!!! I’m close to crying right now. This is the sweetest thing someone has ever said to me. Thankyou so much!!
Well… your poem was that great so the ISC answer was bound to be phenomenal as well. Unlike those boring poems written by old men on the verge of their death. 😂😅
Anyways, you’ve also restored my faith in friendship. You are the only one with whom I talk to the most and that’s coming from someone who doesn’t talk to anyone this much. 😅♥️
I’m always there for you, through thick and thin, through fair and bad weather, through turmoil and joy, and through the times when some people (rat king and her bats’ army) are after you (sugar plum fairy), I’d be the loyal friend who’ll help you in defeating them. 🥹♥️
Awww🥹🥹...I am ugly crying now!😭❤️💌
Very beautiful my heart is smiling reading this!! The use of words is mesmerizing.
That is so sweet of you!🥹
Thanks a lot!🥰
SO BEAUTIFULL
🥰🥹❤️