#NaPoWriMo Day 4: A Tale Of Two Teacups.

I’ll admit I am even surprising myself with my ability to keep up with the prompts for NaPoWriMo, this year. Today’s prompt via napowrimo.net was to write about living with an artwork. The minute I saw what the prompt was, I knew exactly what I was going to write about, today.

For a bit of context, one of the teacups I talk about in my poem is an actual teacup that one of my friends gave me as a gift, about an year ago. It’s shaped like a tulip and it came with its own matching leaf-shaped saucer. I absolutely adore it, but I might have been too careful with it because I haven’t used it as much as I ought to. It’s not that I don’t like drinking from that particular teacup, it’s just that it is way too pretty for me to be using it every single day.

The other teacup that I’ve written about is actually an artwork by one of my most brilliant and talented friends, Kaushiki. I’ve made the same artwork my featured image for today, as well. You should totally chek out Kaushiki’s artwork here, by the way. I had bought a print of the artwork hoping to revamp my place, a while back. But too many things happened simultaneously and I never really ended up displaying any of the artworks I meant to. Of course, I’ll get around to that soon. Or so I hope.

It was not intentional in either case, I confess. I feel very bad for never letting either teacup be displayed. But then I recalled what my best friend told me on her recent visit here. She told me that gifts are often meant to be actually used, and not for safekeeping. And today, it just felt like every single one of these thoughts came together so beautifully, and so naturally, almost like it was meant to happen.

I’ve never written a poem like this one, before. It is as new to me as it is to you, but I hope you’ll like it just the same. I am seeing a side of myself that isn’t restricted to romantic poetry, this year. I hope to keep writing more like this because it is so refreshing, even to me.

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Once upon a time, if you could believe
Lived two teacups in a household unknown,
The most exquisite kind known to man–
Well, not a man exactly, but to me;
One from the finest artist I’ve known,
And another, a gift for my love of art.

They now peek from the gaps,
Left untouched for so long,
The doors of cabinets left ajar;
Dejected, even defeated, perhaps,
Knowing of nothing that goes on–
Shut in, like prisoners of some war.

When daylight breaks in,
The house awash in gold,
One seldom reaches for the cup.
It sits there, seemingly wondering
What purpose it serves, if at all,
Shooting daggers at me, perched high up.

One teacup– a creamy white,
Crafted to precision, the shape of a tulip,
Sits atop its saucer, a leaf in green.
I ‘ooh’ and ‘ahh’ at it, day and night,
But never drink from it,
Afraid coffee stains would wither its sheen.

Yet another sits on a shelf,
Away from any sunlight,
Safe from vagaries the weather brings,
For as long as I can help,
In brilliant strokes of lilac, pink, and white,
A painting of tea, hot and steaming.

And I know it in my soul,
You let art like that see the light of day,
And to be loved is to be changed,
But I’d never forgive myself
If I ever had to part with those–
If my unworthy hands caused damage.

The words of my closest friend
Ring like a reminder in my ears,
‘They’re meant to be used,’ she’d said,
‘Consumed, even if to their end,’
And as a lover of beauty, I agree–
But another part of me wishes they simply lasted.

And someday, I’d find the courage,
Or at least I’d like to think,
To drink from the cup, sitting under the poster.
I’d only cherish the teacups with age,
Let myself wonder why I ever hid them;
They were never prisoners. Not to me, anyway.

~© Shubhangi Srinivasan.

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Here’s to another day of pleasant surprises, overcoming technical glitches and writing an entire blog post all over because it got deleted, and of course, poetry. So many of you have asked me how I keep myself motivated to keep writing every day, and I will definitely write a post about this as soon as NaPoWriMo season is over. Until then, I hope you like what I’ve been writing, and if you do, please don’t be shy. I’d love to hear from you guys. Leave me comments, share my posts with your friends, and reach out to me on social media. I would appreciate all of it!
Until tomorrow, then!
Cheerio! Xx

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Featured Image by @kaushiikii on Instagram.